Spirent Communications (SPT)

Sector:

IT Hardware

Index:

FTSE 250

170.20p
   
  • Change Today:
    -0.80p
  • 52 Week High: 200.00p
  • 52 Week Low: 90.10p
  • Currency: UK Pounds
  • Shares Issued: 578.65m
  • Volume: 87,439
  • Market Cap: £984.86m
  • RiskGrade: 172
  • Beta: 0.00

Canaccord Genuity moves Spirent Communications to 'speculative buy'

By Iain Gilbert

Date: Wednesday 07 Aug 2024

LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Over at Canaccord Genuity, analysts upgraded telecommunications testing company Spirent Communications from 'hold' to 'speculative buy' on Wednesday following the group's H1 trading update a day earlier.
Canaccord Genuity said the upgrade was partly driven by Keysight's 199.0p cash offer for the business, which it said represented a roughly 15% upside to the stock's current price. Spirent shareholders have recently approved the deal, leaving regulatory and foreign investment clearances in the US, UK, France & Germany.

"The combined entity will have a high ~80% combined HSE market share, but we understand the cooperation agreement commits KEYS to take responsibility for any required remedies," said Canaccord. "Shareholders are further entitled to a 2.5p/sh dividend before deal closure, with an extra 1p/sh should this take beyond 30/6/25. We hence estimate a ~16% TSR assuming deal closure in the guided Nov 24 - Apr 25 window."

However, the Canadian bank also noted that weaker-than-expected revenue and order performance, as well as management's commentary that it expects "challenging market conditions to continue in the second half of 2024, triggered material downgrades.

"We have cut our 2024-25 revenue forecasts by ~11% and adj. EPS by up to 38%. Adj. operating margins are now expect to trough at 7% this year vs prior cycle lows of 10%. Our assumption remains for a 5% revenue/47% EPS recovery in 2025, though given the severity of the current downturn this could well turn out to be conservative. In any case, it may not be overly relevant for Spirent shareholders as we expect the acquisition by Keysight to close by the long stop date of end-September 2025."







Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

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Note 1: Prices and trades are provided by Digital Look Corporate Solutions and are delayed by at least 15 minutes.

Note 2: RiskGrade figures are provided by RiskMetrics.

 

SPT Market Data

Currency UK Pounds
Share Price 170.20p
Change Today -0.80p
% Change -0.47 %
52 Week High 200.00p
52 Week Low 90.10p
Volume 87,439
Shares Issued 578.65m
Market Cap £984.86m
Beta 0.00
RiskGrade 172

SPT Star Ratings

Compare performance with the sector and the market.
more star ratings
Key: vs Market vs Sector
Value
90.1% below the market average90.1% below the market average90.1% below the market average90.1% below the market average90.1% below the market average
70% below the sector average70% below the sector average70% below the sector average70% below the sector average70% below the sector average
Price Trend
22.99% below the market average22.99% below the market average22.99% below the market average22.99% below the market average22.99% below the market average
4.00% above the sector average4.00% above the sector average4.00% above the sector average4.00% above the sector average4.00% above the sector average
Income
91.35% below the market average91.35% below the market average91.35% below the market average91.35% below the market average91.35% below the market average
42.86% below the sector average42.86% below the sector average42.86% below the sector average42.86% below the sector average42.86% below the sector average
Growth
98.51% below the market average98.51% below the market average98.51% below the market average98.51% below the market average98.51% below the market average
100% below the sector average100% below the sector average100% below the sector average100% below the sector average100% below the sector average

What The Brokers Say

Strong Buy 1
Buy 0
Neutral 2
Sell 0
Strong Sell 0
Total 3
buy
Broker recommendations should not be taken as investment advice, and are provided by the authorised brokers listed on this page.

SPT Dividends

  Latest Previous
  Interim Final
Ex-Div 10-Aug-23 16-Mar-23
Paid 15-Sep-23 10-May-23
Amount 2.14p 4.12p

Trades for 03-Oct-2024

Time Volume / Share Price
14:32 437 @ 170.08p
14:29 51 @ 170.20p
14:28 48 @ 170.20p
14:19 400 @ 170.30p
14:00 107 @ 170.20p

SPT Key Personnel

CEO Eric Updyke

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