Needham & Company LLC Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Stock

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC has raised its price target for Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) from $135.00 to $155.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.05% from the previous close.
• Advanced Energy Industries reported earnings of $1.50 EPS for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and demonstrating a 21.0% year-over-year increase in revenue.
• Investment analysts give Advanced Energy Industries a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy," with seven analysts assigning a buy rating and two a strong buy rating for the stock.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $135.00 to $155.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the electronics maker's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective points to a potential upside of 2.77% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $118.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Advanced Energy Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $138.90.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Performance

AEIS traded up $4.32 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $150.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 470,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,263. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 3.28 and a current ratio of 4.09. The company's fifty day moving average price is $134.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.84. Advanced Energy Industries has a 52-week low of $75.01 and a 52-week high of $152.23. The company has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.52.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The electronics maker reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.22. Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The company had revenue of $441.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $421.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Advanced Energy Industries will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John Donaghey sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $280,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,544,060. This trade represents a 15.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Paul R. Oldham sold 1,173 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.29, for a total transaction of $154,003.17. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,006 shares in the company, valued at $4,070,777.74. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advanced Energy Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AEIS. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 26,838 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $3,103,000 after purchasing an additional 3,762 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,597 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $647,000 after buying an additional 636 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 209,785 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $24,257,000 after acquiring an additional 2,951 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 61.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 354 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp acquired a new position in Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Advanced Energy Industries Company Profile

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc provides precision power conversion, measurement, and control solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's plasma power products offer solutions to enable innovation for semiconductor and thin film plasma processes, such as dry etch and deposition.