Arizona State Retirement System Sells 148 Shares of IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP)

Arizona State Retirement System decreased its stake in shares of IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,607 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 148 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in IPG Photonics were worth $934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of IPG Photonics by 127.2% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 259 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Middle East FZE bought a new stake in IPG Photonics in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in IPG Photonics by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 612 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of IPG Photonics by 123.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 837 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of IPG Photonics in the third quarter valued at approximately $89,000. 93.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at IPG Photonics

In related news, major shareholder Valentin Gapontsev Trust I sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $895,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,209,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $645,691,686.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eric Meurice sold 629 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $62,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,100. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,629 shares of company stock valued at $1,815,300 over the last three months. Company insiders own 33.50% of the company’s stock.

IPG Photonics Stock Performance

IPGP stock opened at $84.84 on Wednesday. IPG Photonics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.00 and a fifty-two week high of $141.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $89.11 and a 200-day moving average of $94.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 17.01 and a beta of 1.19.

IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.06). IPG Photonics had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 17.00%. The business had revenue of $298.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $287.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.91) EPS. IPG Photonics’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that IPG Photonics Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

IPG Photonics announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 13th that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Seaport Res Ptn reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of IPG Photonics in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup cut IPG Photonics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $111.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of IPG Photonics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of IPG Photonics from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.20.

IPG Photonics 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.