Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gentex in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group set a $25.00 price target on Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on Gentex from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $26.00 price objective on Gentex in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.71.

Gentex Stock Performance

GNTX opened at $21.75 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.76. Gentex has a 52-week low of $20.28 and a 52-week high of $29.38.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $644.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.90 million. Gentex had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 16.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Gentex will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Gentex

In related news, CEO Steven R. Downing sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $866,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 211,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,238,832.50. This trade represents a 14.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Neil Boehm sold 11,248 shares of Gentex stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.82, for a total value of $279,175.36. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 58,951 shares in the company, valued at $1,463,163.82. This trade represents a 16.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 58,133 shares of company stock worth $1,442,313 in the last 90 days. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Gentex during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Gentex during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Gentex by 82.3% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,042 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 2,420.7% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,067 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares during the period. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners bought a new position in shares of Gentex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,000. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

About Gentex

Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX) is a global technology company specializing in the design and manufacture of automotive and aerospace products. The company’s primary business centers on automatic-dimming rearview mirrors, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and camera-based driver monitoring technologies. In the automotive sector, Gentex supplies exterior and interior mirrors with integrated electronics, connectivity features, and safety capabilities to many of the world’s leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).