Celestica (NYSE:CLS) Shares Climb 4.8% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Celestica shares rose 4.8% to about $254.63 in Thursday midday trading, with volume roughly 80% above its daily average.
• Analysts maintain a consensus Buy rating and a $445.14 average price target, though recent targets vary widely, from $340 to $500.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $3.30 versus $3.02 expected and revenue of $5.74 billion versus $5.39 billion forecast.

Celestica, Inc. (NYSE:CLS - Get Free Report) TSE: CLS's share price rose 4.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $267.16 and last traded at $254.6330. Approximately 4,570,746 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 80% from the average daily volume of 2,536,802 shares. The stock had previously closed at $242.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Celestica from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Celestica from $495.00 to $340.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "conviction-buy" rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of Celestica in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. TD set a $430.00 target price on Celestica and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price target on Celestica in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $445.14.

Celestica Stock Up 4.8%

The company has a market capitalization of $32.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 2.10. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $313.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $328.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Celestica (NYSE:CLS - Get Free Report) TSE: CLS last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The technology company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.28. Celestica had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 33.80%. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Celestica, Inc. will post 10.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Celestica news, President Todd Cooper sold 20,118 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $7,242,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 73,252 shares in the company, valued at $26,370,720. This trade represents a 21.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Mionis sold 23,396 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.22, for a total value of $8,521,291.12. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Celestica

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLS. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Celestica in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Celestica during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Latitude Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Celestica during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of Celestica by 266.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 121 shares of the technology company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Celestica during the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. 67.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Celestica Company Profile

Celestica Inc. is a global provider of design, manufacturing, and supply chain services for companies across technology and industrial markets. Its work spans product development, engineering, manufacturing, testing, and ongoing product support. The company's offerings include hardware and infrastructure used in cloud computing and data centers, communications networks, aerospace and defense, industrial equipment, and health technology. It also provides supply chain management and other services to support products throughout their lifecycle.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.