XPEL (NASDAQ:XPEL) Raised to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• XPEL's rating was upgraded from "hold" to "buy" by Wall Street Zen, reflecting increased confidence in the stock amidst mixed analyst opinions.
• The company reported earnings of $0.59 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations of $0.52 and indicating a 13.5% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Institutional investors hold a significant 75.08% of XPEL's stock, with notable increases in holdings from multiple hedge funds over recent quarters.

XPEL (NASDAQ:XPEL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Separately, Zacks Research upgraded shares of XPEL to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Sell".

XPEL Stock Up 7.8%

Shares of NASDAQ XPEL traded up $2.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.48. 304,694 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 146,216. XPEL has a twelve month low of $24.25 and a twelve month high of $47.23. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $36.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.86 and a beta of 1.67.

XPEL (NASDAQ:XPEL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $124.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $118.37 million. XPEL had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 21.17%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that XPEL will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in XPEL by 319.7% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,273 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in shares of XPEL by 27.5% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 16,757 shares of the company's stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of XPEL by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 77,226 shares of the company's stock worth $2,772,000 after purchasing an additional 5,306 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in XPEL by 234.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,886 shares of the company's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 2,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its position in XPEL by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 11,536 shares of the company's stock worth $414,000 after buying an additional 1,778 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

About XPEL

XPEL, Inc sells, distributes, and installs protective films and coatings worldwide. The company offers automotive surface and paint protection film, headlight protection, and automotive and architectural window films, as well as proprietary DAP software. It also provides pre-cut film products, merchandise and apparel, ceramic coatings, and tools and accessories.