First Trust Advisors LP Grows Stock Position in IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP)

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP - Free Report) by 35.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 343,208 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 89,237 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.79% of IPG Photonics worth $24,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of IPG Photonics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $415,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in IPG Photonics in the 4th quarter valued at $3,989,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its position in IPG Photonics by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 6,824 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of IPG Photonics by 52.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,656 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $120,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of IPG Photonics by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,604 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. 93.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on IPGP. CL King raised shares of IPG Photonics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $76.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on IPG Photonics in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of IPG Photonics in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of IPG Photonics from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $82.80.

IPG Photonics Price Performance

IPGP traded up $1.32 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $61.21. 38,334 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 278,533. The business's 50-day moving average price is $59.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of -14.67 and a beta of 0.97. IPG Photonics Co. has a 1-year low of $48.59 and a 1-year high of $92.21.

IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The semiconductor company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.05). IPG Photonics had a positive return on equity of 2.98% and a negative net margin of 18.58%. As a group, analysts expect that IPG Photonics Co. will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IPG Photonics Profile

IPG Photonics Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells various high-performance fiber lasers, fiber amplifiers, and diode lasers used in various applications primarily in materials processing worldwide. Its laser products include hybrid fiber-solid state lasers with green and ultraviolet wavelengths; fiber pigtailed packaged diodes and fiber coupled direct diode laser systems; high-energy pulsed lasers, multi-wavelength and tunable lasers, and single-polarization and single-frequency lasers; and high-power optical fiber delivery cables, fiber couplers, beam switches, chillers, scanners, and other accessories.