By Andrés Nieto Porras from Palma de Mallorca, España, via Wikimedia Commons
Charging Bull
Stratasys may be on the brink of a bull run, as the company has been upgraded from hold to buy.Stratasys (NASDAQ: SSYS) has been upgraded from hold to buy by Needham & Company with a price target of $80.00 following the release of its solid fourth-quarter results and impressive 2013 guidance this week.
In market-speak, a company with a "hold" recommendation is generally anticipated to perform with the market or at the same pace as other companies within that group, while the term can also be referred to as "market perform" or "neutral".
A "buy" status, however, is known as a recommendation to purchase a specific security. A buy rating from an analyst or research firm such as Needham & Company is a recommendation to purchase this security and implies the security is undervalued.
Following this upgrade, Needham & Company stated that Stratasys' report - which was its first since merging with Objet - featured a good amount of "merger-related noise"
On a pro forma combined basis, revenues for the October-December period rose by 23 per cent year-on-year with solid high-teen operating margins.
"Management expects revenues to be up 20-24 per cent in 2013, with earnings per share guidance meeting Street expectations," Needham & Company stated.
"We believe industry demand remains strong, the integration of the merger appears to be on track and we expect increased operating leverage to drive earnings growth over the next two years," it added.
