The following are the top rated Information Technology stocks according to Validea's Low PE Investor model based on the published strategy of John Neff. This strategy looks for firms with persistent earnings growth that trade at a discount relative to their earnings growth and dividend yield.
SMART GLOBAL HOLDINGS INC. (SGH) is a small-cap growth stock in the Semiconductors industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff is 21% 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: SMART Global Holdings, Inc. is engaged in the design and manufacture of specialty solutions for the computing, memory, and light emitting diode (LED) markets. The Company operates through three segments: Memory Solutions, Intelligent Platform Solutions (IPS) and LED Solutions. Its Memory Solutions, under its SMART Modular brand provides memory solutions through the design, development, and advanced packaging of extended lifecycle products. Its IPS group, under its Penguin Solutions brand, consists of two product lines, including Penguin Computing and Penguin Edge. Penguin Computing offers specialized platform solutions for computing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Penguin Edge offers solutions for embedded and wireless applications specializing in products for a range of customers in government, telecommunications, and health care. Its LED Solutions group, under its Cree LED brand, offers a range of portfolio of application-optimized LEDs.
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 RATIO: | FAIL |
| EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | FAIL |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | PASS |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | FAIL |
Detailed Analysis of SMART GLOBAL HOLDINGS INC.
TASKUS INC (TASK) is a small-cap growth stock in the Business Services industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff is 21% 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: TaskUs, Inc. is a provider of outsourced digital services. The Company is focused on serving high-growth technology companies to represent, protect and grow their brands. The Company's global, omni-channel delivery model is focused on providing its clients with three key services: Digital Customer Experience, Content Security and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Services. Digital Customer Experience consists of omni-channel customer care services primarily delivered through digital (non-voice) channels. Content Security principally consists of review and disposition of user and advertiser generated content for purposes, which include removal or labelling of policy violating, offensive or misleading content. AI Services consists of data labelling, annotation and transcription services performed for the purpose of training and tuning AI algorithms through the process of machine learning. It has clients spanning various industry segments within social media, e-commerce, gaming, and 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 RATIO: | FAIL |
| EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | FAIL |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | PASS |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | FAIL |
Detailed Analysis of TASKUS INC
COHERENT CORP (COHR) is a mid-cap growth stock in the Semiconductors industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff is 21% 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: Coherent Corp., formerly II-VI Incorporated, is an integrated manufacturing company. The Company's products include optical communications, optoelectronic devices, optics and laser systems. The optical communications products include optical transceivers, active optical cables, optical engines, communication components, wavelength management and optical instrumentation. The optoelectronic device products include HPL bars and stacks, HPL SE pumps and seeds, GaAs optoelectronics, InP optoelectronics and lasers for sensing. The Optics include industrial laser optics, thermal imaging optics, life sciences optics, all-purpose optics and optical materials. The laser systems include laser cutting, laser micromachining, laser lapping and mono-diamond cutting. The Company's other products include laser processing tools, laser components, electronic devices, epitaxy and ion implantation, wide-bandgap electronics, thermos electrics, ceramics and metal matrix composites, and engineered materials.
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 RATIO: | FAIL |
| EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | FAIL |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | PASS |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | FAIL |
Detailed Analysis of COHERENT CORP
AUTODESK INC (ADSK) is a large-cap growth stock in the Software & Programming industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff is 4% 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: Autodesk, Inc. is engaged in three-dimensional (3D) design, engineering and entertainment technology solutions, spanning architecture, engineering, construction, product design, manufacturing, media and entertainment. Its product offerings are focused on four primary product families: Architecture, Engineering and Construction, AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT, Manufacturing, and Media and Entertainment. Its products include AutoCAD Civil 3D; Building Connected; Architecture, Engineering and Construction Collection; Autodesk Build; Revit; AutoCAD; AutoCAD LT; Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) Solutions; Fusion 360; Product Design and Manufacturing Collection; Inventor; Vault; Media and Entertainment Collection; Maya; ShotGrid, and 3ds Max. Its product development and manufacturing software provides manufacturers in automotive, transportation, industrial machinery, consumer products, and building product industries with digital design, engineering, manufacturing, and production solutions.
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 RATIO: | FAIL |
| EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | FAIL |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | FAIL |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | PASS |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | PASS |
Detailed Analysis of AUTODESK INC
SHIFT4 PAYMENTS INC (FOUR) is a mid-cap growth stock in the Consumer Financial Services industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff is 4% 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: Shift4 Payments, Inc. is an independent provider of software and payment processing solutions in the United States. The Company's merchant range in size from small owner-operated local businesses to multinational enterprises conducting commerce throughout the world. It distributes its services through a scaled network of seasoned internal sales and support teams, as well as through its network of software partners. The Company's software partners are comprised of independent software vendors (ISVs) and value-added resellers (VARs). It offers a single integration to an international end-to-end payment offering, a proprietary gateway and a robust suite of technology solutions to enhance the value of their software and simplify payment acceptance. Its payments platform is a full suite of integrated payment products and services that can be used across multiple channels, geographies and industry verticals, including end-to-end payment processing for a range of payment types; and other.
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 RATIO: | FAIL |
| EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | FAIL |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | FAIL |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | PASS |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | PASS |
Detailed Analysis of SHIFT4 PAYMENTS INC
About John Neff: While known as the manager with whom many top managers entrusted their own money, Neff was far from the smooth-talking, high-profile Wall Streeter you might expect. He was mild-mannered and low-key, and the same might be said of the Windsor Fund that he managed for more than three decades. In fact, Neff himself described the fund as "relatively prosaic, dull, [and] conservative." There was nothing dull about his results, however. From 1964 to 1995, Neff guided Windsor to a 13.7 percent average annual return, easily outpacing the S&P 500's 10.6 percent return during that time. That 3.1 percentage point difference is huge over time -- a $10,000 investment in Windsor (with dividends reinvested) at the start of Neff's tenure would have ended up as more than $564,000 by the time he retired, more than twice what the same investment in the S&P would have yielded (about $233,000). Considering the length of his tenure, that track record may be the best ever for a manager of such a large fund.
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.
