IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) Sets New 1-Year Low at $80.33

IPG Photonics Co. (NASDAQ:IPGP) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $80.33 and last traded at $83.28, with a volume of 92663 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $88.58.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on IPGP shares. Citigroup lowered shares of IPG Photonics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $111.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of IPG Photonics from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of IPG Photonics in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of IPG Photonics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IPG Photonics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.20.

IPG Photonics Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 17.53 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s 50-day moving average is $87.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.21.

IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) last announced its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $298.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $287.03 million. IPG Photonics had a net margin of 17.00% and a return on equity of 9.18%. The business’s revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.91) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that IPG Photonics Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other IPG Photonics 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 shares were sold at an average price of $85.68, for a total transaction of $856,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,219,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $618,575,242.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,000 shares of company stock worth $2,525,140. Company insiders own 33.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IPG Photonics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of IPG Photonics by 127.2% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 259 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of IPG Photonics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of IPG Photonics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. AM Squared Ltd grew its stake in shares of IPG Photonics by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. AM Squared Ltd now owns 600 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of IPG Photonics by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 612 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. 93.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.