Benchmark Cuts IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) Price Target to $106.00

IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) had its price target decreased by Benchmark from $116.00 to $106.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of IPG Photonics from a neutral rating to a sell rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $111.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a hold rating on shares of IPG Photonics in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of IPG Photonics from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, February 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target 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. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of IPG Photonics in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $110.40.

IPG Photonics Price Performance

Shares of IPGP opened at $86.76 on Wednesday. IPG Photonics has a one year low of $80.33 and a one year high of $141.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $87.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.97. The stock has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 1.17.

IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $252.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $255.53 million. IPG Photonics had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 7.67%. The firm’s revenue was down 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that IPG Photonics will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other IPG Photonics news, Director Eric Meurice sold 788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.30, for a total value of $70,368.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,472,646.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Eric Meurice sold 788 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.30, for a total value of $70,368.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,472,646.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Valentin Gapontsev Trust I sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,209,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $645,691,686.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,788 shares of company stock valued at $2,595,508 over the last three months. 37.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IPG Photonics

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of IPG Photonics by 127.2% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 259 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in IPG Photonics during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in IPG Photonics in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. AM Squared Ltd boosted its stake in IPG Photonics by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. AM Squared Ltd now owns 600 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of IPG Photonics by 39.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 612 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. 93.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.