Eric Meurice Sells 788 Shares of IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP) Stock

IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP) Director Eric Meurice sold 788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.30, for a total transaction of $70,368.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,472,646.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

IPG Photonics Stock Performance

Shares of IPGP stock opened at $86.76 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $87.69 and a 200-day moving average of $93.97. IPG Photonics Co. has a 52-week low of $80.33 and a 52-week high of $141.85. The stock has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 1.17.

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

IPG Photonics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of IPG Photonics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 17th. Seaport Res Ptn restated a “buy” rating on shares of IPG Photonics in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of IPG Photonics in a research note on Wednesday. Benchmark decreased their target price on IPG Photonics from $116.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on IPG Photonics from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, IPG Photonics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of IPG Photonics by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in IPG Photonics by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,302 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in IPG Photonics by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 13,300 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,444,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of IPG Photonics by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 922 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of IPG Photonics by 127.2% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 259 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. 93.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.