Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on EXPO. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Exponent from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Exponent from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Exponent from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.00.

Exponent Stock Performance

EXPO opened at $85.97 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.77. Exponent has a 1 year low of $51.91 and a 1 year high of $87.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of 37.06 and a beta of 0.66.

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.04. Exponent had a net margin of 17.40% and a return on equity of 34.61%. The firm had revenue of $173.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.64 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. Exponent’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Exponent will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exponent news, CEO Catherine Corrigan sold 1,707 shares of Exponent stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.28, for a total transaction of $113,139.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,557,278.24. The trade was a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exponent

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EXPO. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Exponent during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Exponent in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Exponent by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 717 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in Exponent in the second quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Exponent by 36.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 959 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

About Exponent

Exponent, Inc is a science and engineering consulting company that helps clients investigate complex technical issues, manage risks, and develop solutions. Its consultants work across disciplines including engineering, materials science, biomechanics, human factors, environmental science, health, data sciences, and economics.

The company provides failure analysis, product safety and testing, accident reconstruction, environmental and health assessments, regulatory support, and expert testimony.