IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) Sets New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

IPG Photonics Corporation (NASDAQ:IPGP)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on the stock from $120.00 to $105.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. IPG Photonics traded as low as $67.70 and last traded at $69.2160, with a volume of 108,809 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.42.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on IPGP. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of IPG Photonics in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of IPG Photonics from $150.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.60.

Insider Activity at IPG Photonics

In other IPG Photonics news, major shareholder Valentin Gapontsev Trust I sold 9,306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.95, for a total transaction of $706,790.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 6,642,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $504,527,191.70. The trade was a 0.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John Peeler acquired 2,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $73.58 per share, for a total transaction of $199,401.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 20,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,536,791.88. The trade was a 14.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 45,806 shares of company stock valued at $3,641,659 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 37.50% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting IPG Photonics

Here are the key news stories impacting IPG Photonics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue rose about 15% year over year to $287.5 million, topping estimates, while earnings of $0.61 per share beat the $0.49 consensus and increased from $0.35 a year earlier. Semiconductor laser revenue more than doubled, pointing to a strong growth area. Article: IPG Photonics: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Needham cut its price target from $120 to $105, a reduction that could weigh on sentiment, although it retained a Buy rating. Article: Needham analyst rating and price target

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IPG Photonics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in IPG Photonics by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 909,287 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $106,678,000 after buying an additional 90,028 shares during the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of IPG Photonics in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,938,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of IPG Photonics by 759.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 182,823 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $14,311,000 after acquiring an additional 161,547 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of IPG Photonics by 173.8% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 85,700 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,820,000 after acquiring an additional 54,400 shares during the period. Finally, Westport Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of IPG Photonics in the second quarter worth $9,092,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.79% of the company’s stock.

IPG Photonics Stock Down 7.0%

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $76.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.76. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 106.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.00.

IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The semiconductor company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $287.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.31 million. IPG Photonics had a net margin of 2.58% and a return on equity of 3.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that IPG Photonics Corporation will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About IPG Photonics

IPG Photonics Corporation (NASDAQ:IPGP) develops and manufactures high-performance fiber lasers, laser systems, optical amplifiers and related components. Its product portfolio includes single-mode and multi-mode fiber lasers, pulsed lasers, diode lasers, beam-delivery systems and other specialized photonics products.

The company’s technologies are used primarily for industrial materials processing applications, including cutting, welding, marking, drilling, cladding and additive manufacturing.