Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX) is a Singapore-based top-tier EMS provider. Credit Suisse initiated coverage on the stock with an Outperform rating and a $24 price target of. At a recent price of around $18.80, the upside potential to the price target is 27.7%. The company’s diverse markets (Credit Suisse named six) give Flex “a natural offset to cyclical spending and product launches.” If consumer demand is weak, demand from, say, the auto industry can pick up the difference.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE: HPE) was given an Outperform rating and a price target of $18, implying an upside potential of about 21% based on Friday’s noon-hour trading price. The company owns a 49% stake in a joint venture with a Chinese enterprise hardware maker and is developing recurring revenue services offerings, both of which are currently growing but subject to some risk.
HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) gets an Outperform rating and a price target of $39, implying an upside of around 12.8% to the share price. Risks to Credit Suisse’s outlook include a faster demand decline for PCs, continued supply chain issues and “the inability to scale growth businesses” like its printing ink subscription program.
Cross and Ellis have assumed coverage of International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), maintaining an Outperform rating and a $163 price target. At a share price of around $138.50, the implied upside is 17.7%. The analysts note that the spin-off of Kyndryl and the acquisition of Red Hat two years earlier means that IBM ” has embraced a software/solutions-first model.” Software generated 41% of fiscal 2021 revenue.
Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL), like Flex, is a top-tier EMS provider. Credit Suisse has given the stock an Outperform rating and a price target of $74. The implied gain based on a price of around $63.00 is about 17.5%. Credit Suisse expects fiscal 2022 revenue to be up 30%, compared to fiscal 2019, with an operating margin of 4.6%, up 1.14% from 2019 levels. Given that success, the company is aiming to get operating margins to 5% in the next few years.
The analysts initiated coverage on NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) with an Outperform rating and a 12-month price target of $87. The upside potential based on a price of around $74.00 is 17.6%. The company’s cloud storage and other recurring services have increased recurring revenue by a factor of 10 since 2019. The company also has said it would slow its acquisition pace and return more cash to shareholders.
Pure Storage Inc. (NYSE: PSTG) was also initiated at Outperform and given a price target of $36. The stock is trading near $30.60, implying an upside potential of 17.6%. Pure Storage makes and sells flash memory as a service, and the analysts note that the company’s entire product portfolio is both modular and “evergreen.” Some 97% of flash arrays purchased in the past six years are still in use.
Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) is the only 3D printer maker that gets an Outperform rating from Cross and Ellis. The analysts have a price target of $24 on the stock, implying a potential upside of nearly 30% to a price of around $18.50. Stratasys having chosen to focus on polymer technology is a plus in the analysts’ eyes, and they expect sales to sales to grow in the near term after six years of decline.
Originally posted at 24/7 Wall St.
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