Chip gear vendor Entegris beat expectations for the fourth quarter but guided below views for the current period. However, Entegris said it expects the semiconductor market to gradually recover this year. Entegris stock rose Wednesday on the news.
The Billerica, Mass.-based company late Tuesday said it earned an adjusted 65 cents a share on sales of $812.3 million in the December quarter. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of 58 cents a share on sales of $781 million. On a year-over-year basis, Entegris earnings dropped 22% while sales declined 14%.
For the current quarter, Entegris forecast adjusted earnings of 63 cents a share on sales of $780 million. That's based on the midpoint of its guidance. Wall Street had been modeling earnings of 65 cents a share on sales of $804 million for the first quarter. In the year-earlier period, Entegris earned 65 cents a share on sales of $922 million.
"As we enter 2024, inventories of semiconductors have largely normalized, end demand has stabilized in most segments, and we expect a gradual industry recovery to occur throughout the year," Chief Executive Bertrand Loy said in a news release. "In addition, we expect Entegris will continue to outgrow the market and show leverage in our model."
Entegris Stock Rises After Report
On the stock market today, Entegris stock rose 5.7% to close at 131.17.
Entegris supplies advanced materials and process solutions for the semiconductor and other high-tech industries.
KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Aleksey Yefremov reiterated his overweight, or buy, rating on ENTG stock with a price target of 136.
"Investors are likely to be encouraged by the near bottoming in the semi market, but the earnings report perhaps does not add much to the bull case," he said in a client note.
Elsewhere in the semiconductor market, chip gear leader ASML also is calling for a recovery.
"We believe that the market has now reached the lowest point of the dip," ASML Chief Financial Officer Roger Dassen said in comments in the company's 2023 annual report published on Wednesday. "Although we cannot predict the exact nature of the slope ahead, the recovery is nascent."
ENTG Stock Ranks 10th In Group
On Nov. 29, Entegris stock broke out of a cup-with-handle base at a buy point of 105.75, according to IBD MarketSmith charts.
Entegris stock ranks 10th out of 27 stocks in IBD's semiconductor equipment industry group, according to IBD Stock Checkup. ENTG stock has an IBD Composite Rating of 86 out of 99.
The semiconductor equipment group ranks ninth out of 197 industry groups that IBD tracks.
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