Stock price when the opinion was issued
ZBRA's share price has been falling alongside the market so far in September, but this has been somewhat exacerbated by a rating downgrade by Morgan Stanley. We do not feel that anything has fundamentally changed, and its weakness is similar to many names in today's market. It trades at a somewhat premium valuation, with a forward P/E of ~30X, and has decent margins, but sales growth has been somewhat muted recently and investors are likely trying to connect its premium valuation to sales growth. Earnings growth is expected to be strong in the coming years, and we like it for the industrial robotic side of things. We are comfortable with the name, especially for a long-term hold, but we might expect some further downside pressure as it retests its lows of ~$230.
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EPS of $1.71 beat estimates of $1.65; revenue of $1B was 1.3% better than expected. The outlook was quite solid. Revenue has solidly improved from the Q3 bottom and channel inventories are lower, suggesting future demand strength. 2024 sales growth is still low (1% to 3%) but earnings are recovering much faster, with better margins and lower tax rates. We think the pop was justified.
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