Celestica (NYSE:CLS) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Celestica Inc. (NYSE:CLS) (TSE:CLS) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $57.47, but opened at $62.70. Celestica shares last traded at $66.46, with a volume of 2,195,729 shares changing hands.

The technology company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.11. Celestica had a net margin of 4.16% and a return on equity of 19.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Celestica’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CLS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Securities lifted their target price on Celestica from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Celestica from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Celestica from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Celestica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Celestica from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Celestica currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.67.

Institutional Trading of Celestica

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Westover Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Celestica by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 21,776 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 3,764 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Celestica during the 1st quarter worth $3,248,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Celestica by 62.9% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 546,230 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $24,548,000 after buying an additional 210,943 shares during the last quarter. Rockingstone Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Celestica in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,442,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Celestica during the 1st quarter worth $1,231,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.38% of the company’s stock.

Celestica Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $8.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.89 and a beta of 2.28. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

About Celestica

Celestica Inc provides supply chain solutions in North America, Europe, and Asia. It operates through two segments: Advanced Technology Solutions, and Connectivity & Cloud Solutions. The company offers a range of product manufacturing and related supply chain services, including design and development, new product introduction, engineering services, component sourcing, electronics manufacturing and assembly, testing, complex mechanical assembly, systems integration, precision machining, order fulfillment, logistics, asset management, product licensing, and after-market repair and return services.