Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 25,216 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in IPG Photonics were worth $2,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in IPG Photonics by 127.2% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 259 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new stake in IPG Photonics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in IPG Photonics by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 612 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in IPG Photonics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,000. 93.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Eric Meurice sold 629 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,100. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Eric Meurice sold 629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 16,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,649,100. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Valentin Gapontsev Trust I sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.68, for a total value of $856,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,219,599 shares in the company, valued at $618,575,242.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,629 shares of company stock worth $1,815,300. 37.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

IPG Photonics Trading Up 0.3 %

IPG Photonics stock opened at $84.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.83 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $88.47 and a 200-day moving average of $94.74. IPG Photonics Co. has a 52 week low of $83.00 and a 52 week high of $141.85.

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

IPG Photonics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About IPG Photonics

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.