IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP) Short Interest Up 28.5% in May

IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,300,000 shares, a growth of 28.5% from the May 15th total of 1,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 346,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.6 days. Currently, 9.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

IPG Photonics Price Performance

Shares of IPG Photonics stock traded down $1.29 on Tuesday, hitting $66.81. 202,033 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 294,448. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $61.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a PE ratio of -15.98 and a beta of 0.90. IPG Photonics has a one year low of $48.59 and a one year high of $92.21.

IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $227.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $227.00 million. IPG Photonics had a negative net margin of 18.58% and a positive return on equity of 2.98%. The firm's revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that IPG Photonics will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

IPG Photonics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IPG Photonics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IPGP. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of IPG Photonics by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 75,503 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $5,491,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in shares of IPG Photonics by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 375,546 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $27,310,000 after acquiring an additional 95,199 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in IPG Photonics by 355.7% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of IPG Photonics by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 10,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of IPG Photonics by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 12,310 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 93.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on IPGP. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of IPG Photonics from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup dropped their target price on IPG Photonics from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded IPG Photonics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on IPG Photonics in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, CL King raised IPG Photonics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $76.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $69.50.

About IPG Photonics

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.

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