Technology

How Analysts See Seagate Much Stronger After Earnings

Chris Lange

Published: January 25, 2017 3:00 pm

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 3:31 pm

Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Tuesday. Ultimately, these results pushed shares to a new high on Wednesday, also they prompted a large number of analysts to weigh in on the stock. Not surprisingly, many see this tech company as very strong going into 2017.

24/7 Wall St. has included some of the highlights from the earnings report as well as what the analysts are saying after the fact.

The company posted $1.38 in diluted earnings per share (EPS) on a non-GAAP basis and $2.9 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $1.08 in earnings per share (EPS) and $2.83 billion in revenue. The same period from last year had $0.82 in EPS and $2.98 billion in revenue.

Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating for Seagate and raised its price target to $50 from $44. The brokerage firm further detailed in its report:

Seagate reported robust fiscal second quarter (Dec) results with EPS well above consensus driven by revenue strength and robust gross margin. The company also raised EPS expectations for the March quarter and 2017 calendar year. Seagate attributed strong financial performance primarily to a focus on high-capacity products across the portfolio and to a lesser degree its cost restructuring activities. Reiterate Buy.

Merrill Lynch’s Wamsi Mohan took a pessimistic view on the stock, despite hiking the price objective to $38 from $33. The firm still rates Seagate as Underperform. The report remained cautious about how sustainable this is and that there seems to be little upside. Mohan commented in the report:

Seagate guided calendar 2017 EPS of at least $4.50, with topline growth, which is achievable given mix and cost benefits. December and March EPS beat Street expectations, with gross margin at high-end of LT guide. Investors concerned about gross margin sustainability. Results positive for Western Digital, which should benefit from better like-for-like pricing as well share gains from Seagate in nearline HDD.

A few other analysts weighed in as well:

• Barclays has an Equal Weight rating and raised the price target to $46 from $42.
• Benchmark has a Buy rating and raised the price target to $50.
• BMO has a Market Perform rating and raised the price target to $42.
• CLSA raised the price target to $40 from $33.
• Cowen raised the price target to $46 from $36.
• Deutsche Bank raised the price target to $45 from $35.
• Goldman Sachs has a Neutral rating and raised the price target to $44 from $39.
• Jefferies has a Buy rating and raised the price target to $50 from $44.
• JP Morgan raised the price target to $42 from $34.
• Maxim Group has a Hold rating and raised the price target to $46 from $36.
• Mizuho has a Neutral rating and raised the price target to $40 from $34.
• Morgan Stanley has an Equal-Weight rating and raised the price target to $40 from $37.
• Needham has a Strong Buy rating and raised the price target to $55 from $47.
• RBC has a Sector Perform rating and raised the price target to $45 from $40.
• Stifel raised the price target to $46 from $40.
• UBS raised the price target to $32 from $27.

Shares of Seagate were last trading up 17% at $43.81, with a consensus analyst price target (not updated) of $39.73 and a 52-week trading range of $18.42 to $46.68, a new 52-week high set this morning.