Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Rating Increased to Buy at Needham & Company LLC

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Needham & Company LLC from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $145.00 price objective on the electronics maker's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective suggests a potential upside of 15.79% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $124.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Advanced Energy Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $125.78.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Performance

Shares of Advanced Energy Industries stock traded up $3.99 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $125.23. 361,855 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 250,039. Advanced Energy Industries has a 1 year low of $89.11 and a 1 year high of $128.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 109.85, a PEG ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 4.62 and a quick ratio of 3.32.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.07. Advanced Energy Industries had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 2.91%. The company had revenue of $374.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $372.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Advanced Energy Industries's revenue was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Advanced Energy Industries will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Advanced Energy Industries

In other news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.72, for a total value of $111,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,092 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $568,878.24. The trade was a 16.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Advanced Energy Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 535.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 216 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 200.0% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 312 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the third quarter worth $41,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 68.4% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 458 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries in the second quarter valued at $87,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.