IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $117.20.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on IPGP shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price 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. Citigroup cut IPG Photonics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $111.00 to $74.00 in a report on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com lowered IPG Photonics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 17th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn reissued a “buy” rating on shares of IPG Photonics in a research note on Thursday, January 25th.

IPG Photonics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IPGP opened at $85.37 on Wednesday. IPG Photonics has a 1 year low of $83.00 and a 1 year high of $141.85. The company has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 18.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.72 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $87.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.48.

IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) last released 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 net margin of 17.00% and a return on equity of 9.18%. The company had revenue of $298.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $287.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.91) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that IPG Photonics will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

IPG Photonics announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at IPG Photonics

In other IPG Photonics news, major shareholder Valentin Gapontsev Trust I sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.68, for a total transaction of $856,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,219,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $618,575,242.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Eric Meurice sold 629 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $62,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,100. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Valentin Gapontsev Trust I sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.68, for a total transaction of $856,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,219,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $618,575,242.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,629 shares of company stock worth $1,815,300. Insiders own 37.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IPG Photonics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in IPG Photonics by 2.4% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 8,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $771,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in IPG Photonics by 56.5% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 70,266 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,372,000 after purchasing an additional 25,379 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of IPG Photonics by 2.8% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 7,300 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $662,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of IPG Photonics in the 1st quarter worth $4,534,000. Finally, Partnership Wealth Management LLC raised its position in IPG Photonics by 382.7% in the 1st quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,561 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,593,000 after buying an additional 13,923 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.79% of the company’s stock.

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.