Materialise (NASDAQ:MTLS) Reaches New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Materialise shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $8.48 and gaining 5.8% from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating from three analysts, with an average price target of $10.00.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.07 on $78.9 million in revenue, while institutional ownership stands at 19.3% amid recent hedge-fund buying.

Materialise NV (NASDAQ:MTLS - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $8.48 and last traded at $8.4890, with a volume of 264567 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on MTLS shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Materialise in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Materialise from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Materialise has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.00.

Materialise Trading Up 5.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $500.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.37 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $7.00 and a 200 day moving average of $6.29.

Materialise (NASDAQ:MTLS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The software maker reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Materialise had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 5.20%. The firm had revenue of $78.90 million during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts predict that Materialise NV will post 0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Materialise during the 2nd quarter worth about $81,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in shares of Materialise by 175.0% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 34,723 shares of the software maker's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 22,098 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Materialise by 1,606.7% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 26,300 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 24,759 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Materialise during the 2nd quarter valued at about $118,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Materialise by 74.2% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,232 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 3,506 shares during the period. 19.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Materialise

Materialise NV is a Belgium-based company that develops software and provides services for additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing. Its solutions help organizations design, prepare, manage and produce three-dimensional parts and products across a range of industrial and healthcare applications.

The company's offerings include additive manufacturing software, engineering and manufacturing services, and medical solutions. Its medical business provides software and services used to create patient-specific anatomical models, surgical guides, implants and other applications that support planning and treatment.

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