XPEL (NASDAQ:XPEL) Shares Up 6.7% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• XPEL's stock price increased by 6.7% after Wall Street Zen upgraded it from a hold to a buy rating, with shares trading as high as $38.18.
• Despite the upgrade, Zacks Research rated XPEL as a "strong sell," and the overall consensus rating remains at "sell" among analysts.
• Institutional investors hold 75.08% of XPEL's shares, with significant increases in positions by several major investors during the fourth quarter.

XPEL, Inc. (NASDAQ:XPEL - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 6.7% during trading on Monday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The company traded as high as $38.18 and last traded at $38.06. 49,980 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 203,430 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.68.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On XPEL

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in XPEL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of XPEL by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,876 shares of the company's stock worth $914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of XPEL by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 255,921 shares of the company's stock worth $10,221,000 after purchasing an additional 22,388 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in shares of XPEL during the fourth quarter worth $514,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of XPEL by 47.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 23,017 shares of the company's stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 7,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of XPEL by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 24,501 shares of the company's stock worth $979,000 after purchasing an additional 2,054 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

XPEL Stock Up 6.9%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76 and a beta of 1.67.

XPEL (NASDAQ:XPEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $124.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $118.37 million. XPEL had a return on equity of 21.17% and a net margin of 10.84%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that XPEL, Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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