IPG Photonics Corp. (NASDAQ:IPGP) stock climbed Thursday after the company reported fourth-quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations, pushing the stock toward a fresh 52-week high.
The rally was amplified by elevated short interest, with a short float of 3.245 million shares, or 27.11% of the publicly traded float, indicating heavy bearish positioning.
Strong Financial Performance Across Segments
The company posted adjusted earnings of 46 cents per share, topping analysts’ consensus estimate of 20 cents. Net sales rose 17% year over year to $274.47 million, surpassing expectations of $249.45 million, supported by gains in materials processing, medical, and advanced applications.
Materials processing accounted for 85% of revenue and increased 17% year over year, driven by welding, marking, additive manufacturing, and cleaning demand, partially offset by lower micromachining sales. Other applications grew 15%. Emerging growth products represented 54% of revenue, up from 52% in the …