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Here's Why Investors May Bet on Perion Network (PERI) Stock

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Perion Network (PERI - Free Report) is a stock which investors may consider adding to their portfolio to gain from its upside potential amid ongoing volatility. The company currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Apart from a favorable rank, PERI has a Growth Score of A. Per Zacks’ proprietary methodology, stocks with a combination of a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 and a VGM Score of A or B offer solid investment opportunities.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 and 2024 earnings per share is pegged at $2.69 and $2.92, indicating an increase of 8.9% and 8.4% year over year, respectively. The consensus estimate for 2023 and 2024 revenues is pegged at $730.1 million and $821.5 million, implying year-over-year growth of 14% and 12.5%, respectively.

PERI has an impressive surprise record. Its earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 31.7%.

The stock is currently trading at 3.2% below its 52-week high price of $39.54 on Mar 27, 2022, making it relatively affordable for investors. PERI’s shares have gained 67.5% in the past year against the Zacks sub-industry’s 19.6% decline.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

A Look at Growth Drivers

Perion Network is an Israel-based technology company that offers brands and publishers online advertising and search monetization solutions. The company is committed to providing data-driven execution, from high-impact ad formats to branded search, and a unified social and mobile programmatic platform.

Perion’s performance is being driven by continued strength in Display Advertising and Search Advertising business segments.

The company’s video platform is one of its biggest growth drivers as publishers increase spending. Revenues from video platform increased 129% year over year in 2022 and represented 43% of total display advertising revenues.

Moreover, the growing requirement for privacy is driving demand for SORT, which is the company’s privacy-first cookieless solution. In the last reported quarter, the number of SORT customers jumped 36%. The company added 76 new SORT customers, taking overall count to 191 customers leveraging SORT.

Perion Network’s performance is also benefiting from its extensive investments to build its Intelligent Hub to optimize demand and supply management.

In the last reported quarter, the company reported adjusted earnings of 90 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 28.57% and jumped 45.2% year over year. Revenues of $209.7 million topped the consensus mark by 2.25% and rose 32.7% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA was $48.2 million, up 66.8% on a year-over-year basis.

For 2023, revenues are projected between $720 million and $740 million, indicating year-over-year growth of 14%.

Adjusted EBITDA is expected in the range of $149-$153 million, suggesting growth of 14% at the mid-point.

However, weakness in global macroeconomic conditions is likely to put pressure on advertising inventory.  Unfavorable forex movements and inflation are other headwinds.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader technology space are Arista Networks (ANET - Free Report) , Pegasystems (PEGA - Free Report) and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS - Free Report) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 at present.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Arista Networks’ 2023 earnings is pegged at $5.79 per share, increasing 11% in the past 60 days. The estimated long-term earnings growth rate is 14.2%.

ANET’s earnings beat estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 14.2%. Shares of ANET have increased 17.9% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Pegasystems’ 2023 earnings is pegged at $1.35 per share, rising 66.7% in the past 60 days.

Pegasystems’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 11.2%. Shares of the company have declined 43.8% in the past year

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cadence Design Systems’ 2023 earnings is pegged at $4.97 per share, rising 10% in the past 60 days. The estimated long-term earnings growth rate is 19.1%.

CDNS beat estimates in two of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 10.5%. Shares of the company have gained 24.5% in the past year

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