Equities researchers at Blaylock Robert Van began coverage on shares of Freescale Semi (NYSE: FSL) in a report issued on Wednesday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the stock.
The analysts wrote, “We believe that Freescale’s market share leadership, above-industry growth for its serviceable addressable markets (SAMs) and allocating more resources to Asia Pacific, continuing investment in technologies will drive topline to outgrow the overall industry. In addition, its current business model starts benefiting from years of restructuring, which will drive gross margin expansion. Further, deleverage will drop to earnings growth. However, with FSL already trading at 2.2x, group average EV/sales, we believe accelerating growth, margin expansion and deleverage are priced into the shares at current level.”
Freescale Semi traded up 0.13% on Wednesday, hitting $15.69. Freescale Semi has a 1-year low of $7.63 and a 1-year high of $16.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $14.76. The company’s market cap is $3.934 billion.
Freescale Semi last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 29th. The company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $957.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $942.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.07 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Freescale Semi will post $0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Freescale Semi from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note to investors on Wednesday. They now have a $18.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $15.00. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Separately, analysts at SunTrust initiated coverage on shares of Freescale Semi in a research note to investors on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Freescale Semi in a research note to investors on Wednesday, January 30th. They now have a $18.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $15.00.
Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, one has assigned an overweight rating, and five have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “overweight” and an average target price of $14.43.
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. manufactures microcontrollers, microprocessors and semiconductors. The Company offers microcontroller solutions, such as the components of embedded control systems, including embedded processors, microcontrollers, and embedded microprocessors that are used in automotive, consumer, industrial, and computer peripheral applications.
Get Analysts' Upgrades and Downgrades via Email - Stay on top of analysts' coverage with Analyst Ratings Network's FREE daily email newsletter that provides a concise list of analysts' upgrades and downgrades. Click here to register now.
