Several foreign brokerages recently raised their target price on Catcher Technology Co (可成) shares, after the company reported record-high earnings for last year.
Among the upbeat foreign brokerages, CIMB Securities raised its target price on Catcher shares from NT$350 to NT$430, the highest price to date in foreign institutional investor circles. The brokerage left its “overweight” rating on the stock unchanged.
During an investor conference held on Thursday last week, Catcher, one of Taiwan’s leading metal casing suppliers, reported that it posted NT$17.88 billion (US$566.8 million) in net profit for last year, up 29.5 percent year-on-year, with earnings per share (EPS) of NT$23.52, while consolidated sales rose 27.8 percent year-on-year to NT$55.28 billion. The figures for net profit and sales were the highest in the company’s history.
In the fourth quarter alone, Catcher’s net profit rose 32 percent from the third quarter to NT$6.44 billion, with EPS of NT$8.41.
On Friday last week, Catcher shares rose 7 percent, the daily maximum increase, to close the day at NT$324.
CIMB Securities said that the metal casing maker’s results stunned the market, indicating that the company has maintained its lead over competitors in production technology, helping it secure more orders from Apple Inc for iPhone production, adding that orders from the US-based consumer electronics giant would rise further this year.
As a result, the brokerage raised its forecast for Catcher’s EPS this year and next year by 18 percent and 24 percent to NT$29.61 and NT$35.95 respectively.
Deutsche Securities upgraded its target price on Catcher shares from NT$400 to NT$424, leaving a “buy” rating unchanged, while HSBC Securities raised its target price from NT$355 to NT$415 and maintained an “overweight” recommendation.
BNP Paribas left its “buy” rating on Catcher shares unchanged, while upgrading the target price on the stock from NT$336 to NT$390.
Catcher chairman Hung Shui-shu (洪水樹) said at the investor conference that based on orders placed by the company’s clients, he expects to post higher sales for the first quarter than the previous quarter. Hung added that Catcher, dubbed one of the most important “Apple concept stocks” on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, expects to see its bottom line further strengthen this year.
In January and last month, Catcher’s consolidated sales rose more than 65 percent from a year earlier to NT$10.47 billion.
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