ATS (NYSE:ATS) Reaches New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Key Points

• ATS hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $33.26 (last $33.03) on Friday — roughly a 4.5% intraday gain on volume near 73,000 shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed with a consensus “Hold” and an average target of $35 (two Buy, two Hold, one Sell); JPMorgan raised its target to $35 while Zacks and Weiss were more cautious.
• The company beat EPS expectations ($0.34 vs. $0.30) but missed on revenue ($553.8M vs. $723M), with revenue up 16.7% YoY; ATS has a high PE (~218), market cap of ~$3.21B, and about 76% institutional ownership.

ATS Corporation (NYSE:ATS - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $33.26 and last traded at $33.0250, with a volume of 73054 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ATS. Zacks Research lowered ATS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of ATS from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of ATS in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of ATS in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of ATS in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, ATS has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.00.

ATS Stock Up 4.5%

The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $30.51 and a 200-day moving average of $28.46. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 218.01 and a beta of 1.16.

ATS (NYSE:ATS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $553.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.96 million. ATS had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 0.77%.The company's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that ATS Corporation will post 1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ATS

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ATS. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ATS during the fourth quarter worth about $793,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in ATS by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,272,222 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,037,000 after purchasing an additional 75,490 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ATS during the 4th quarter worth approximately $302,000. Guardian Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of ATS during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,298,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of ATS by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 81,910 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,257,000 after buying an additional 6,455 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.84% of the company's stock.

About ATS

ATS Corporation NYSE: ATS is a Canada-based global provider of automation and energy solutions. Headquartered in Cambridge, Ontario, the company specializes in the design, engineering and manufacturing of custom automation and test systems, as well as fluid handling and control products. Since its founding in 1978, ATS has focused on delivering integrated hardware and software solutions that help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) improve efficiency, quality and throughput across a range of industries.

Through its Automation segment, ATS develops bespoke assembly and testing platforms for sectors such as life sciences, consumer electronics, automotive and industrial equipment.

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