Sono-Tek (NASDAQ:SOTK) Stock Moved Up to Outperform by Northland Securities

Sono-Tek (NASDAQ:SOTK) was upgraded by investment analysts at Northland Securities from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $7.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock. Northland Securities‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 36.05% from the stock’s previous close.

SOTK has been the topic of several other reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Sono-Tek from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sono-Tek from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.75.

Sono-Tek Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ SOTK traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $5.15. The company had a trading volume of 89,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 52,815. The stock has a market cap of $81.03 million, a PE ratio of 43.29 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $5.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.17. Sono-Tek has a 1-year low of $3.40 and a 1-year high of $7.48.

Sono-Tek (NASDAQ:SOTK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The industrial products company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.02). Sono-Tek had a net margin of 9.32% and a return on equity of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $5.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 million. On average, research analysts expect that Sono-Tek will post 0.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sono-Tek news, CFO Stephen Bagley sold 8,346 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.13, for a total transaction of $42,814.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,033.02. This represents a 28.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sono-Tek

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Sono-Tek in the 2nd quarter valued at about $73,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Sono-Tek by 41.6% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 89,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 26,161 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sono-Tek during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $179,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sono-Tek during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $349,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.89% of the company’s stock.

Sono-Tek Company Profile

Sono-Tek Corporation is a precision technology company that designs and manufactures ultrasonic coating and spraying systems. Its equipment uses high-frequency ultrasonic energy to atomize liquids into controlled, uniform sprays, enabling manufacturers to apply thin films, coatings and other materials with minimal overspray and waste.

The company offers ultrasonic spray nozzles, integrated coating systems, precision liquid-dispensing equipment and automated or robotic platforms. Its technologies are used in applications including medical devices, electronics, fuel cells, solar and alternative-energy products, glass and other industrial components.