Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ:ZBRA) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zebra Technologies has been downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating by Zacks Research, reflecting a cautious outlook from analysts.
• Despite the downgrade, other analysts have set target prices for Zebra Technologies, with Truist Financial raising theirs from $319.00 to $350.00.
• The company recently initiated a $250 million stock buyback plan, indicating the board believes its shares are undervalued.

Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ:ZBRA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on Zebra Technologies from $319.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BNP Paribas raised Zebra Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. BNP Paribas Exane raised Zebra Technologies from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $408.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Zebra Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays set a $375.00 price objective on Zebra Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zebra Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $369.56.

Zebra Technologies Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of ZBRA stock opened at $288.99 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $310.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $294.47. Zebra Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $205.73 and a fifty-two week high of $427.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.29 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ:ZBRA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.30. Zebra Technologies had a return on equity of 18.95% and a net margin of 10.56%.The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.18 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Zebra Technologies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.250-15.750 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 3.600-3.800 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Zebra Technologies will post 13.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zebra Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zebra Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Zebra Technologies by 8.7% in the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,751 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Zebra Technologies by 33.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,236,000 after buying an additional 1,964 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Zebra Technologies by 1.9% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,473 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $981,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Zebra Technologies by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 21,321 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,024,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Zebra Technologies by 31.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,123 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,271,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the period. 91.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zebra Technologies Company Profile

Zebra Technologies Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides enterprise asset intelligence solutions in the automatic identification and data capture solutions industry worldwide. It operates in two segments, Asset Intelligence & Tracking, and Enterprise Visibility & Mobility. The company designs, manufactures, and sells printers that produce labels, wristbands, tickets, receipts, and plastic cards; dye-sublimination thermal card printers that produce images, which are used for personal identification, access control, and financial transactions; radio frequency identification device (RFID) printers that encode data into passive RFID transponders; accessories and options for printers, including carrying cases, vehicle mounts, and battery chargers; stock and customized thermal labels, receipts, ribbons, plastic cards, and RFID tags for printers; and temperature-monitoring labels primarily used in vaccine distribution.

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