Stratasys (NASDAQ:SSYS) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Stratasys shares gapped down from $11.37 to $9.49 following a downgrade from Needham & Company, which lowered their price target from $15.00 to $13.00. The stock currently trades at $10.09.
• Despite the downgrade, Wall Street Zen recently upgraded Stratasys from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, contributing to an average consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $12.20.
• Institutional investors have been increasing their stakes in Stratasys, with notable stakes raised by Formidable Asset Management, HSBC Holdings, and others, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.

Shares of Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock had previously closed at $11.37, but opened at $9.49. Stratasys shares last traded at $10.09, with a volume of 1,285,175 shares.

Separately, Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Stratasys from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Stratasys currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.20.

Institutional Trading of Stratasys

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Stratasys by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 563,832 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,012,000 after acquiring an additional 172,218 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Stratasys in the 4th quarter valued at $331,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Stratasys by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 16,664 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. Cigogne Management SA bought a new position in Stratasys during the 4th quarter worth $272,000. Finally, Penn Capital Management Company LLC bought a new position in Stratasys during the 4th quarter worth $5,376,000. Institutional investors own 75.77% of the company's stock.

Stratasys Trading Down 0.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $791.45 million, a P/E ratio of -6.96 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.52.

Stratasys (NASDAQ:SSYS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 13th. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03. The business had revenue of $138.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $137.15 million. Stratasys had a negative return on equity of 1.06% and a negative net margin of 17.42%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.04) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Stratasys, Ltd. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

About Stratasys

Stratasys Ltd. provides connected polymer-based 3D printing solutions. It offers range of 3D printing systems, which includes polyjet printer, Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) printers, stereolithography printing systems, origin P3 printers, and selective absorption fusion printer for additive manufacturing, and tooling and rapid prototyping for various vertical markets, such as automotive, aerospace, consumer products and healthcare.