Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Brooks Automation (NASDAQ:BRKS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks.com reports.
According to Zacks, “Brooks Automation is a leading worldwide provider of automation, vacuum, and instrumentation solutions for multiple markets including semiconductor manufacturing, life sciences, and clean energy. Their technologies, engineering competencies, and global service capabilities provide customers speed to market, and ensure high uptime and rapid response, which equate to superior value in their mission-critical controlled environments. Since 1978, they have been a leading partner to the global semiconductor manufacturing market and through product development initiatives and strategic business acquisitions; they have expanded their reach to meet the needs of customers in the life sciences industry, analytical & research markets, and clean energy solutions. “
Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on BRKS. ValuEngine downgraded shares of Brooks Automation from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Brooks Automation from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Brooks Automation from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Brooks Automation presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $42.60.
Shares of NASDAQ:BRKS opened at $39.73 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.38. The company has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 1.41. Brooks Automation has a 52 week low of $28.42 and a 52 week high of $50.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.52.
Brooks Automation (NASDAQ:BRKS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $200.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.38 million. Brooks Automation had a net margin of 55.99% and a return on equity of 6.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Brooks Automation will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current year.
In other news, SVP William T. Montone sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total transaction of $740,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 124,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,284,075.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Joseph sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.63, for a total transaction of $255,780.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 99,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,227,105.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 229,003 shares of company stock valued at $10,295,391. Insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brooks Automation by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,401,215 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $403,047,000 after purchasing an additional 237,859 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Brooks Automation by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,046,699 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $75,789,000 after purchasing an additional 9,916 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Brooks Automation by 226.6% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,397,834 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $40,999,000 after purchasing an additional 969,851 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Brooks Automation by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,354,736 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $50,166,000 after purchasing an additional 297,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Brooks Automation by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,098,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $40,659,000 after purchasing an additional 108,480 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.53% of the company’s stock.
Brooks Automation Company Profile
Brooks Automation, Inc provides automation and cryogenic solutions for various markets. The company operates in two segments, Brooks Semiconductor Solutions Group and Brooks Life Science Systems. The Brooks Semiconductor Solutions Group segment offers mission-critical wafer automation and contamination controls solutions and services.
Featured Article: What is the Consumer Price Index (CPI)?
Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Brooks Automation (BRKS)
For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com
Receive News & Ratings for Brooks Automation Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for Brooks Automation and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.