Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Earns “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $145.00 target price on the electronics maker’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price points to a potential upside of 16.68% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Citigroup upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.56.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ AEIS opened at $124.27 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $117.43 and a 200-day moving average of $110.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 109.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.45. Advanced Energy Industries has a 52 week low of $89.11 and a 52 week high of $130.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a current ratio of 4.62.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The electronics maker reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.03). Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 9.02%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Advanced Energy Industries will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,000 shares of Advanced Energy Industries stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.72, for a total value of $111,720.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $568,878.24. The trade was a 16.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Advanced Energy Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $335,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Advanced Energy Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $623,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 457,759 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $52,931,000 after buying an additional 53,692 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 774,586 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $89,565,000 after buying an additional 138,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Advanced Energy Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,785,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

About Advanced Energy Industries

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc provides precision power conversion, measurement, and control solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's plasma power products offer solutions to enable innovation for semiconductor and thin film plasma processes, such as dry etch and deposition.