IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) Given “Hold” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on IPGP. Citigroup downgraded IPG Photonics from a neutral rating to a sell rating and reduced their price target for the company from $111.00 to $74.00 in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Seaport Res Ptn restated a buy rating on shares of IPG Photonics in a report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of IPG Photonics from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, February 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of IPG Photonics from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $110.40.

IPG Photonics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:IPGP opened at $86.76 on Wednesday. IPG Photonics has a fifty-two week low of $80.33 and a fifty-two week high of $141.85. The firm has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 19.80 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $87.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.95.

IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. IPG Photonics had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 7.67%. The business had revenue of $252.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $255.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that IPG Photonics will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

IPG Photonics announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at IPG Photonics

In related news, major shareholder Valentin Gapontsev Trust I sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total value of $895,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,209,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $645,691,686.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Valentin Gapontsev Trust I sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total transaction of $895,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,209,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $645,691,686.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eric Meurice sold 788 shares of IPG Photonics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.30, for a total transaction of $70,368.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,472,646.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,788 shares of company stock valued at $2,595,508 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 37.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IPG Photonics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of IPG Photonics by 2.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,039,073 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $308,587,000 after acquiring an additional 85,984 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in IPG Photonics by 9.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 836,794 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $84,968,000 after purchasing an additional 73,182 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in IPG Photonics by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 789,991 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $85,750,000 after purchasing an additional 8,445 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of IPG Photonics during the 4th quarter valued at about $70,719,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of IPG Photonics by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 388,257 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $42,141,000 after purchasing an additional 5,958 shares during the last quarter. 93.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

IPG Photonics Company Profile

IPG Photonics Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells various high-performance fiber lasers, fiber amplifiers, and diode lasers used in various applications primarily in materials processing worldwide. Its laser products include hybrid fiber-solid state lasers with green and ultraviolet wavelengths; fiber pigtailed packaged diodes and fiber coupled direct diode laser systems; high-energy pulsed lasers, multi-wavelength and tunable lasers, and single-polarization and single-frequency lasers; and high-power optical fiber delivery cables, fiber couplers, beam switches, chillers, scanners, and other accessories.