Ascendiant Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Pro-Dex (NASDAQ:PDEX) Stock

Key Points

• Ascendiant Capital Markets raised Pro-Dex’s price target from $70 to $74 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying 23.66% upside from the prior close. Analysts overall give the stock a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating.
• Pro-Dex exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.87 in EPS versus a $0.67 estimate and revenue of $20.4 million, above the $19.2 million consensus.
• Company insiders sold shares, including the CFO and CEO, while insiders still retain 45.9% of the company. Institutional and hedge-fund investors own 15.28% of Pro-Dex stock.

Pro-Dex (NASDAQ:PDEX - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at Ascendiant Capital Markets from $70.00 to $74.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the medical instruments supplier's stock. Ascendiant Capital Markets' price objective indicates a potential upside of 23.66% from the stock's previous close.

PDEX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Pro-Dex to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Pro-Dex from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pro-Dex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pro-Dex presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Pro-Dex Price Performance

Shares of PDEX stock opened at $59.84 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.68. Pro-Dex has a 52-week low of $23.47 and a 52-week high of $77.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a current ratio of 4.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.49 million, a P/E ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 0.06.

Pro-Dex (NASDAQ:PDEX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 3rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.20. Pro-Dex had a return on equity of 25.13% and a net margin of 17.62%.The company had revenue of $20.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.20 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Pro-Dex will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Alisha Charlton sold 2,300 shares of Pro-Dex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.30, for a total value of $140,990.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,340,631. This trade represents a 9.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kirk Richard Lee Van, Jr. sold 19,235 shares of Pro-Dex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.58, for a total value of $1,165,256.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 79,993 shares in the company, valued at $4,845,975.94. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 45.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pro-Dex

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC increased its position in Pro-Dex by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 5,808 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in Pro-Dex by 65.4% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,314 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Pro-Dex in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Pro-Dex by 173.3% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,692 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Pro-Dex during the second quarter worth about $50,000. 15.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Pro-Dex

Pro-Dex, Inc is a designer and manufacturer of precision drive systems and fluid management products serving the dental, medical, industrial and energy markets. The company specializes in high-speed, brushless micromotors and controllers, as well as pneumatic and fluid control devices, providing both standard and custom-engineered solutions for original equipment manufacturers.

Its product portfolio includes high-speed dental handpieces, turbine systems, rotary and reciprocating micro-drives, along with integrated fluid delivery systems.

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