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Supply-chain disruptions and end-market dynamics across the world due to the coronavirus pandemic impacted the Zacks Electronics – Testing Equipment industry adversely. Depressed major sectors like the automotive, industrial and linear markets are weighing heavily on the industry's prospects.
Nevertheless, Agilent Technologies, AMETEK, Fortive, and Cognex are well-poised to benefit from the 5G-related growth opportunities, strengthening automation drive, and the ongoing learn-from-home and work-from-home trends. Further, the emergence of software-enabled testing instruments and devices remains the silver lining for the industry participants.
Industry Description
The Zacks Electronics – Testing Equipment industry comprises companies that offer advanced instruments, electronic testing equipment solutions, thermal management systems, electrical connectors, motors and various test solutions. The major end-markets served by this particular industry are consumer, automobile, industrial, aerospace & defense, healthcare, semiconductors and communications to name a few.
The industry players are continuously making technological advancements to gain traction from the manufacturers of semiconductors, vehicles, machinery, smartphones and medical devices, who are constantly increasing their spending on electronic components.
3 Trends Shaping the Future of Electronics - Testing Equipment Industry
Pandemic-Led Disruptions a Headwind: The industry players are reeling under the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19)-induced macroeconomic woes. The supply-chain challenges due to the ongoing pandemic severely impacted these companies. Further, production delays remain a major concern. Moreover, the panoptic impact of the COVID-19-led crisis has been wreaking havoc on new bookings of the industry players for a while.
5G Prospects Are Key Catalysts: The growing deployment of 5G holds near-term promises for the industry players. An uptick in demand for the 5G test solutions, which are required for 5G deployment, is another major positive. The current coronavirus-triggered work-from-home and learn-from-home waves, which are steadily bolstering the demand for high-speed Internet services globally, bode well for the electronic companies that are enhancing their 5G efforts.
The growing number of high-speed data centers worldwide is another tailwind. Given the upbeat scenario, the industry is anticipated to remain on the growth trajectory, backed by strong efforts made to solidify the 5G strength.
Solid Adoption of Motion Control & Test Systems a Positive: The rising utilization of precision motion-control solutions and automatic test systems in motion-control devices and testing products, particularly in the aerospace, automation, medical and military markets, is a boon. Further, the commercial motor vehicles will likely continue buoying demand for vehicle-tracking systems, fleet-management solutions and other private fleet applications, which are part of the industry's key offerings.
Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Bleak Prospects
The Zacks Electronics – Testing Equipment industry is housed within the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector. It carries a Zacks Industry Rank #173, which places it in the bottom 32% of more than 250 Zacks industries.
The group's Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates weak near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
Before we present a few stocks that you may want to consider for your portfolio, let's take a look at the industry's recent stock-market performance and its valuation picture.
Industry Lags S&P 500 & Sector
The Zacks Electronics – Testing Equipment Industry has underperformed the Zacks S&P 500 composite and the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector in the past year.
The companies in the industry have collectively lost 8.5% against the S&P 500's gain of 8.6%. The same is also compared with the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 7.5%.
Industry's Current Valuation
On the basis of the forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio (P/E), which is a commonly used multiple for valuing the Electronics – Testing Equipment stocks, the industry is currently trading at 24.2X, higher than the S&P 500's 19.51X and the sector's 22.59X.
Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 31.87X and as low as 18.87X, with a median of 24.28X.
4 Testing Equipment Stocks to Keep a Close Eye On
Agilent: This Palo Alto, CA-based player is gaining from a solid momentum across both small and large molecule applications, which is strengthening its presence in the pharmaceutical market. Strength in Cell Analysis, Liquid Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry spaces remains a tailwind.
This presently Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, an original equipment manufacturer of a broad-based portfolio of test and measurement products serving multiple end markets, is experiencing synergies drawn from the acquisition of BioTek Instruments. A's solid execution of a cross-lab strategy along with its consistent focus on aligning investments with more attractive growth avenues and innovative high-margin product launches remains positives. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Shares of Agilent have lost 1.3% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2022 earnings has been stable at $4.86 per share over the past 30 days.
AMETEK: This Berwyn, PA-based company is gaining on solid contributions from the Magnetrol International and Crank Software acquisitions, which are driving growth in its Electronic Instruments segment. Benefits from the Pacific Design Technologies buyout are aiding the Electromechanical segment. Further, rising demand for precision motion control solutions remains a major tailwind.
The company, which is the manufacturer of electronic appliances and electromechanical devices, remains optimistic about its strong momentum across the defense and medical markets. This presently Zacks Rank #3 company's proper execution of its four core growth strategies, namely operational excellence, global market expansion, investments in product development and acquisitions, is expected to continue aiding its finances in the near term.
The stock has lost 1.5% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AME's 2022 earnings has been stable at $5.40 per share over the past 30 days.
Fortive: The Everett, WA-based company is benefiting from the strong demand trends for software offerings and their increased orders. Further, a solid momentum across the Fortive Business System tools remains a major tailwind. Additionally, strengthening momentum across Intelligent Operating Solutions, Precision Technologies and Advanced Healthcare Solutions is another positive.
This currently Zacks Rank #3 entity, a provider of industrial technology and professional instrumentation solutions, has been gaining from its strategic acquisitions for a while. FTV's ServiceChannel acquisition is helping it penetrate the facility and asset lifecycle market. Also, the buyout of Provation is expected to boost Fortive's healthcare segment.
The stock has lost 19.3% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Fortive's 2022 earnings has been revised 0.3% upward over the past 30 days to $3.09 per share.
Cognex: The Natick, MA-based entity is benefiting from an uptick in demand for its products from large customers. Further, Cognex machine vision's growing momentum owing to the ongoing online learning and work-from-home trends, which in turn, is spurring the need for tablets, laptops and wearable devices, remains a major positive.
This presently Zacks Rank #3 player, a developer and manufacturer of machine vision systems, remains well-positioned to reap benefits from the factory automation space.
Cognex has lost 14.8% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 earnings has been stable at $1.74 per share over the past 30 days.
Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
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Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZacksInvestmentResearch/ Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights Agilent Technologies, AMETEK, Fortive, and Cognex
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – April 13, 2022 – Today, Zacks Equity Research discusses Agilent Technologies (A - Free Report) , AMETEK (AME - Free Report) , Fortive (FTV - Free Report) and Cognex (CGNX - Free Report) .
Industry: Testing Equipment
Link: https://www.zacks.com/commentary/1898003/4-testing-equipment-stocks-to-escape-a-challenging-industry
Supply-chain disruptions and end-market dynamics across the world due to the coronavirus pandemic impacted the Zacks Electronics – Testing Equipment industry adversely. Depressed major sectors like the automotive, industrial and linear markets are weighing heavily on the industry's prospects.
Nevertheless, Agilent Technologies, AMETEK, Fortive, and Cognex are well-poised to benefit from the 5G-related growth opportunities, strengthening automation drive, and the ongoing learn-from-home and work-from-home trends. Further, the emergence of software-enabled testing instruments and devices remains the silver lining for the industry participants.
Industry Description
The Zacks Electronics – Testing Equipment industry comprises companies that offer advanced instruments, electronic testing equipment solutions, thermal management systems, electrical connectors, motors and various test solutions. The major end-markets served by this particular industry are consumer, automobile, industrial, aerospace & defense, healthcare, semiconductors and communications to name a few.
The industry players are continuously making technological advancements to gain traction from the manufacturers of semiconductors, vehicles, machinery, smartphones and medical devices, who are constantly increasing their spending on electronic components.
3 Trends Shaping the Future of Electronics - Testing Equipment Industry
Pandemic-Led Disruptions a Headwind: The industry players are reeling under the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19)-induced macroeconomic woes. The supply-chain challenges due to the ongoing pandemic severely impacted these companies. Further, production delays remain a major concern. Moreover, the panoptic impact of the COVID-19-led crisis has been wreaking havoc on new bookings of the industry players for a while.
5G Prospects Are Key Catalysts: The growing deployment of 5G holds near-term promises for the industry players. An uptick in demand for the 5G test solutions, which are required for 5G deployment, is another major positive. The current coronavirus-triggered work-from-home and learn-from-home waves, which are steadily bolstering the demand for high-speed Internet services globally, bode well for the electronic companies that are enhancing their 5G efforts.
The growing number of high-speed data centers worldwide is another tailwind. Given the upbeat scenario, the industry is anticipated to remain on the growth trajectory, backed by strong efforts made to solidify the 5G strength.
Solid Adoption of Motion Control & Test Systems a Positive: The rising utilization of precision motion-control solutions and automatic test systems in motion-control devices and testing products, particularly in the aerospace, automation, medical and military markets, is a boon. Further, the commercial motor vehicles will likely continue buoying demand for vehicle-tracking systems, fleet-management solutions and other private fleet applications, which are part of the industry's key offerings.
Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Bleak Prospects
The Zacks Electronics – Testing Equipment industry is housed within the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector. It carries a Zacks Industry Rank #173, which places it in the bottom 32% of more than 250 Zacks industries.
The group's Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates weak near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
Before we present a few stocks that you may want to consider for your portfolio, let's take a look at the industry's recent stock-market performance and its valuation picture.
Industry Lags S&P 500 & Sector
The Zacks Electronics – Testing Equipment Industry has underperformed the Zacks S&P 500 composite and the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector in the past year.
The companies in the industry have collectively lost 8.5% against the S&P 500's gain of 8.6%. The same is also compared with the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 7.5%.
Industry's Current Valuation
On the basis of the forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio (P/E), which is a commonly used multiple for valuing the Electronics – Testing Equipment stocks, the industry is currently trading at 24.2X, higher than the S&P 500's 19.51X and the sector's 22.59X.
Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 31.87X and as low as 18.87X, with a median of 24.28X.
4 Testing Equipment Stocks to Keep a Close Eye On
Agilent: This Palo Alto, CA-based player is gaining from a solid momentum across both small and large molecule applications, which is strengthening its presence in the pharmaceutical market. Strength in Cell Analysis, Liquid Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry spaces remains a tailwind.
This presently Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, an original equipment manufacturer of a broad-based portfolio of test and measurement products serving multiple end markets, is experiencing synergies drawn from the acquisition of BioTek Instruments. A's solid execution of a cross-lab strategy along with its consistent focus on aligning investments with more attractive growth avenues and innovative high-margin product launches remains positives. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Shares of Agilent have lost 1.3% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2022 earnings has been stable at $4.86 per share over the past 30 days.
AMETEK: This Berwyn, PA-based company is gaining on solid contributions from the Magnetrol International and Crank Software acquisitions, which are driving growth in its Electronic Instruments segment. Benefits from the Pacific Design Technologies buyout are aiding the Electromechanical segment. Further, rising demand for precision motion control solutions remains a major tailwind.
The company, which is the manufacturer of electronic appliances and electromechanical devices, remains optimistic about its strong momentum across the defense and medical markets. This presently Zacks Rank #3 company's proper execution of its four core growth strategies, namely operational excellence, global market expansion, investments in product development and acquisitions, is expected to continue aiding its finances in the near term.
The stock has lost 1.5% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AME's 2022 earnings has been stable at $5.40 per share over the past 30 days.
Fortive: The Everett, WA-based company is benefiting from the strong demand trends for software offerings and their increased orders. Further, a solid momentum across the Fortive Business System tools remains a major tailwind. Additionally, strengthening momentum across Intelligent Operating Solutions, Precision Technologies and Advanced Healthcare Solutions is another positive.
This currently Zacks Rank #3 entity, a provider of industrial technology and professional instrumentation solutions, has been gaining from its strategic acquisitions for a while. FTV's ServiceChannel acquisition is helping it penetrate the facility and asset lifecycle market. Also, the buyout of Provation is expected to boost Fortive's healthcare segment.
The stock has lost 19.3% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Fortive's 2022 earnings has been revised 0.3% upward over the past 30 days to $3.09 per share.
Cognex: The Natick, MA-based entity is benefiting from an uptick in demand for its products from large customers. Further, Cognex machine vision's growing momentum owing to the ongoing online learning and work-from-home trends, which in turn, is spurring the need for tablets, laptops and wearable devices, remains a major positive.
This presently Zacks Rank #3 player, a developer and manufacturer of machine vision systems, remains well-positioned to reap benefits from the factory automation space.
Cognex has lost 14.8% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 earnings has been stable at $1.74 per share over the past 30 days.
Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
Our 5 best-performing strategies have blown away the S&P's impressive +28.8% gain in 2021. Amazingly, they soared +40.3%, +48.2%, +67.6%, +94.4%, and +95.3%. Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.