Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH) to Buy

Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH) was upgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a $57.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $42.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.60% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ENPH. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective (up from $45.00) on shares of Enphase Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Enphase Energy from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Enphase Energy in a research note on Monday, January 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. HSBC raised Enphase Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Enphase Energy in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and nine have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Enphase Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.28.

Enphase Energy Trading Up 4.9%

Shares of ENPH opened at $49.74 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $38.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Enphase Energy has a twelve month low of $25.77 and a twelve month high of $67.20. The stock has a market cap of $6.52 billion, a PE ratio of 38.56 and a beta of 1.37.

Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The semiconductor company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.19. Enphase Energy had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 20.31%. The company had revenue of $343.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $340.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. Enphase Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Enphase Energy will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Enphase Energy

In other news, CEO Badrinarayanan Kothandaraman bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $51.98 per share, for a total transaction of $259,900.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,640,632 shares in the company, valued at $85,280,051.36. This trade represents a 0.31% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mandy Yang sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.01, for a total value of $198,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 68,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,277,260.87. The trade was a 8.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 157,100 shares of company stock worth $4,624,815. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Enphase Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Enphase Energy by 37.9% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 11,191 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 3,077 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Enphase Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $121,000. Ethic Inc. bought a new position in Enphase Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Enphase Energy by 13.5% during the second quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 4,342 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Enphase Energy by 76.1% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 18,962 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $752,000 after acquiring an additional 8,195 shares in the last quarter. 72.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Enphase Energy

Enphase Energy is a global energy technology company that specializes in solar microinverters, energy storage systems and energy management software. Its core business centers on converting direct current (DC) power generated by solar panels into alternating current (AC) power suitable for use in residential and commercial applications. By integrating hardware and software solutions, Enphase Energy aims to improve solar energy yield, enhance system reliability and provide real-time monitoring capabilities to its customers.

The company’s product portfolio includes its IQ Series microinverters, which attach to individual solar panels to optimize performance at the module level and reduce the impact of shading or system failures.