The following are today's upgrades for Validea's P/E/Growth Investor model based on the published strategy of Peter Lynch. This strategy looks for stocks trading at a reasonable price relative to earnings growth that also possess strong balance sheets.
PLAINS GP HOLDINGS LP (PAGP) is a mid-cap growth stock in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch changed from 72% to 76% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: Plains GP Holdings, L.P. through Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (PAA), owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure and provides logistics services for crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL). The Company operates through two segments: Crude Oil and NGL. The Crude Oil segment operations generally consist of gathering and transporting crude oil using pipelines (including gathering systems), trucks, and at times on barges or railcars, in addition to providing terminalling, storage and other related services utilizing its integrated assets across the United States and Canada. The NGL segment operations involve natural gas processing and NGL fractionation, storage, transportation and terminalling. The NGL segment is engaged in providing gathering, fractionation, storage, and/or terminalling services to third-party customers, extracting NGL mix from the gas stream processed at its Empress straddle plant facility as well as acquiring NGL mix.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.
| INVENTORY TO SALES: | PASS |
| YIELD ADJUSTED P/E TO GROWTH (PEG) RATIO: | PASS |
| EARNINGS PER SHARE: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | FAIL |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | BONUS PASS |
| NET CASH POSITION: | NEUTRAL |
Detailed Analysis of PLAINS GP HOLDINGS LP
NOVA LTD (USA) (NVMI) is a mid-cap growth stock in the Semiconductors industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch changed from 87% to 91% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: Nova Ltd, former Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd,is an Israel based company which provides metrology solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The Company offers in-line Optical and x-ray stand-alone metrology systems, as well as integrated optical metrology systems, which are attached directly to wafer fabrication process equipment. Its metrology systems measure various film thickness and composition properties, as well as critical-dimension (CD) variables during various front-end and back-end of line steps in the semiconductor wafer fabrication process. Its product portfolio includes a set of in-situ, integrated and stand-alone metrology platforms suited for dimensional, films and material metrology measurements for process control across multiple semiconductor manufacturing process steps. Its products include NovaScan 2040, NovaScan 3090Next, Nova i500, Nova T500, Nova T600, Nova V2600 TSV metrology system among others.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.
| P/E/GROWTH RATIO: | PASS |
| SALES AND P/E RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| INVENTORY TO SALES: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH RATE: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | NEUTRAL |
| NET CASH POSITION: | NEUTRAL |
Detailed Analysis of NOVA LTD (USA)
DIGI INTERNATIONAL INC (DGII) is a small-cap growth stock in the Communications Equipment industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch changed from 0% to 91% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: Digi International Inc. is a global provider of Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity products, services, and solutions. The Company helps its customers deploy, monitor and manage critical communications infrastructures. Its segments include IoT Products and Services, and IoT Solutions. The IoT Products and Services segment offers products and services that help original equipment manufacturers as well as enterprise and government customers create and deploy secure IoT connectivity solutions. These include embedded and wireless modules, console servers, enterprise, and industrial routers as well as other infrastructure management equipment. The Company also provides its customers with a device management platform as well as other professional services. The IoT Solutions segment consists of SmartSense by Digi business and managed network-as-a-service business. It offers wireless temperature and other condition-based monitoring services as well as employee task management services.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.
| P/E/GROWTH RATIO: | PASS |
| SALES AND P/E RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| INVENTORY TO SALES: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH RATE: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | NEUTRAL |
| NET CASH POSITION: | NEUTRAL |
Detailed Analysis of DIGI INTERNATIONAL INC
LIFEWAY FOODS INC (LWAY) is a small-cap growth stock in the Food Processing industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch changed from 72% to 74% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: Lifeway Foods, Inc. is a supplier of the probiotic, fermented beverage known as Kefir. In addition to its line of drinkable Kefir, the Company also produces a variety of cheeses and a ProBugs line for kids. Its primary product is drinkable kefir, a cultured dairy product. Lifeway kefir is tart and tangy, high in protein, calcium and vitamin D. It manufactures products under the Lifeway, Fresh Made and GlenOaks Farms brand names, as well as under private labels on behalf of certain customers. Its product categories are Drinkable kefir; European-style soft cheeses, including farmer cheese, white cheese, and Sweet Kiss; Cream and others, which consist primarily of cream, a byproduct of making its kefir; Drinkable yogurt, sold in a variety of sizes and flavors; ProBugs, a line of kefir products designed for children; and Other dairy, which consists primarily of Fresh Made butter and sour cream. The Companys dairy products are sold across the United States, Mexico, and other countries.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.
| P/E/GROWTH RATIO: | PASS |
| SALES AND P/E RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| INVENTORY TO SALES: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH RATE: | FAIL |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | NEUTRAL |
| NET CASH POSITION: | NEUTRAL |
Detailed Analysis of LIFEWAY FOODS INC
About Peter Lynch: Perhaps the greatest mutual fund manager of all-time, Lynch guided Fidelity Investment's Magellan Fund to a 29.2 percent average annual return from 1977 until his retirement in 1990, almost doubling the S&P 500's 15.8 percent yearly return over that time. Lynch's common sense approach and quick wit made him one of the most quoted investors on Wall Street. ("Go for a business that any idiot can run -- because sooner or later, any idiot probably is going to run it," is one of his many pearls of wisdom.) Lynch's bestseller One Up on Wall Street is something of a "stocks for the everyman/everywoman", breaking his approach down into easy-to-understand concepts.
About Validea: Validea is aninvestment researchservice that follows the published strategies of investment legends. Validea offers both stock analysis and model portfolios based on gurus who have outperformed the market over the long-term, including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch and Martin Zweig. For more information about Validea, click here
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
