BNP Paribas Exane Downgrades Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH) to Underperform

Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH) was downgraded by research analysts at BNP Paribas Exane from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Finviz reports. They presently have a $40.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock. BNP Paribas Exane’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 16.56% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Enphase Energy from $70.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $54.00 price objective (down previously from $59.00) on shares of Enphase Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Enphase Energy from $81.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. DZ Bank cut shares of Enphase Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup restated a “sell” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Enphase Energy in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.87.

Enphase Energy Price Performance

ENPH opened at $47.94 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $54.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.39. The company has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.78 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 3.53 and a quick ratio of 3.28. Enphase Energy has a 1 year low of $43.09 and a 1 year high of $141.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Badrinarayanan Kothandaraman bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.35 per share, for a total transaction of $185,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,598,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,099,559.60. The trade was a 0.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Mandy Yang sold 1,319 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.32, for a total transaction of $83,519.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 78,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,972,139.68. The trade was a 1.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enphase Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CX Institutional purchased a new position in shares of Enphase Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Enphase Energy by 83.0% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 569 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Enphase Energy by 318.1% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Enphase Energy in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Enphase Energy by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 891 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.12% of the company’s stock.

About Enphase Energy

Enphase Energy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells home energy solutions for the solar photovoltaic industry in the United States and internationally. The company offers semiconductor-based microinverter, which converts energy at the individual solar module level and combines with its proprietary networking and software technologies to provide energy monitoring and control.