IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham cut its price target on IPG Photonics from $120 to $105 but maintained a Buy rating; the new target implies 41.09% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is Moderate Buy overall, with an average price target of $139.60; five analysts rate the stock Buy, two Hold, and one Sell.
• IPG Photonics beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $0.61 versus $0.49 expected and revenue of $287.5 million, up 14.6% year over year. Its net margin was 2.58%.

IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by Needham & Company LLC from $120.00 to $105.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the semiconductor company's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 41.09% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of IPG Photonics in a report on Monday, September 21st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of IPG Photonics from $150.00 to $137.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, IPG Photonics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $139.60.

IPG Photonics Stock Performance

IPG Photonics stock opened at $74.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.00. IPG Photonics has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $155.82. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $76.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.76.

IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The semiconductor company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.12. IPG Photonics had a net margin of 2.58% and a return on equity of 3.39%. The firm had revenue of $287.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that IPG Photonics will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IPG Photonics

In other IPG Photonics news, Director Eugene A. Scherbakov sold 3,048 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.30, for a total value of $259,994.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 45,162 shares in the company, valued at $3,852,318.60. The trade was a 6.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Valentin Gapontsev Trust I sold 18,091 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.14, for a total value of $1,359,357.74. Following the sale, the insider owned 6,652,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $499,845,706.88. This trade represents a 0.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,806 shares of company stock worth $3,641,659. 37.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of IPG Photonics

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of IPG Photonics in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of IPG Photonics by 42.2% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 495 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in IPG Photonics by 83.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 524 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of IPG Photonics by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 552 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of IPG Photonics by 206.1% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 704 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. 93.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting IPG Photonics

Here are the key news stories impacting IPG Photonics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: IPG Photonics earned $0.61 per share, above the $0.49 consensus estimate and up from $0.35 a year earlier. Revenue was $287.5 million, topping the $283.31 million estimate and rising 14.6% year over year. The earnings and sales beats are likely supporting investor sentiment. Zacks earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage of the Q3 earnings call characterized the discussion as signaling broad growth momentum, adding to the upbeat read-through from the results. Earnings call coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the stronger results, the company’s reported net margin was 2.58%, so investors may continue to monitor profitability as growth develops.

IPG Photonics Company Profile

IPG Photonics Corporation NASDAQ: IPGP develops and manufactures high-performance fiber lasers, laser systems, optical amplifiers and related components. Its product portfolio includes single-mode and multi-mode fiber lasers, pulsed lasers, diode lasers, beam-delivery systems and other specialized photonics products.

The company's technologies are used primarily for industrial materials processing applications, including cutting, welding, marking, drilling, cladding and additive manufacturing.

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