Some Say Garmin's a Buy After Its Drop
(Edit: In that case, wait some more for it to drop further, and it'll be a steal.)
By Priya Ganapati
TheStreet.com Staff Reporter
1/3/2008 4:08 PM EST
Personal navigation devices maker Garmin (GRMN - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) apparently has caught a cold.
Despite indications of a blockbuster holiday season, the company's stock is down nearly 20% since Dec. 10 as investors remained anxious that discounts designed to lure customers could eat into the company's margins and bring down the average selling price (ASP) for its products. Slowing sales in Europe could also drag down revenue growth this year, some analysts say.
Though Garmin is battling increased competition from rival TomTom and smaller GPS makers, fears around the company's growth may be overblown. The company is expected to beat analysts' estimates for the fourth quarter as demand for GPS products in the U.S. shows no signs of slowing down.
"Garmin ranks high in terms of both of our quantitative and fundamental analysis," says Shawn Price, senior portfolio manager at Navallier, which has Garmin as one of the top 10 holdings in its Touchstone Large Cap Growth Fund.
"Quantitatively it is in the top 20% of our system on both 52-week and 30-day levels, while its fundamentals still are extraordinarily strong," he says.
Price points out that Garmin's revenue in the third quarter grew 79% from a year ago while earnings were up 57%. The company generated $117 million of free cash flow in the quarter and has a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.11 and a forward P/E of 20.45. The industry average trailing P/E is estimated at 26.30.
thestreet.com
I'll buy again with a P/E <= 15.<g>
Disclosure: bought in @ 18, sold out @ 24. |
