IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• IPG Photonics has been upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen, reflecting a more positive outlook on the company's stock.
• Despite recently reported earnings that beat analysts' expectations, IPG Photonics experienced a 2.7% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• Several institutional investors, including Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group, have significantly increased their stakes in IPG Photonics, reflecting growing confidence in the company's future.

IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of IPG Photonics in a report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of IPG Photonics from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of IPG Photonics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $97.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $75.00.

IPG Photonics Stock Up 0.7%

IPGP traded up $0.53 during trading on Friday, hitting $75.26. 254,586 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 227,170. The business's 50 day moving average is $71.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.62. IPG Photonics has a fifty-two week low of $48.59 and a fifty-two week high of $88.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.36, a PEG ratio of 21.55 and a beta of 0.88.

IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.20. IPG Photonics had a negative net margin of 22.77% and a positive return on equity of 2.25%. The firm had revenue of $250.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $228.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that IPG Photonics will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other IPG Photonics news, Director Jeanmarie F. Desmond sold 1,360 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.24, for a total transaction of $103,686.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $742,577.60. This trade represents a 12.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 39.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IPG Photonics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IPGP. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in IPG Photonics by 88.8% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 70,813 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $5,150,000 after purchasing an additional 33,313 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of IPG Photonics by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,791 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 1,276 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of IPG Photonics by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,030 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of IPG Photonics by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,219 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of IPG Photonics by 52.8% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,656 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.79% of the company's stock.

IPG Photonics Company 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.