Brokerages Set IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP) PT at $117.20

IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $117.20.

IPGP has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut IPG Photonics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on 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 lowered IPG Photonics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $111.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of IPG Photonics in a research report on Thursday, January 25th.

Insider Transactions at IPG Photonics

In other news, major shareholder Valentin Gapontsev Trust I sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Valentin Gapontsev Trust I sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $618,575,242.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Eric Meurice sold 629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $62,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,100. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,629 shares of company stock valued at $2,588,040. Corporate insiders own 37.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in IPG Photonics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in IPG Photonics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. AM Squared Ltd increased its position in IPG Photonics by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. AM Squared Ltd now owns 600 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in IPG Photonics by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 612 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.79% of the company’s stock.

IPG Photonics Price Performance

Shares of IPGP stock opened at $88.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 17.47 and a beta of 1.19. IPG Photonics has a 1-year low of $83.00 and a 1-year high of $141.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $87.69 and a 200 day moving average of $94.32.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.06). The company 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 company’s revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.91) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that IPG Photonics will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

IPG Photonics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.