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Research Alert: CFRA Reiterates Hold Opinion On Shares Of Iex

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-- CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We lift our 12-month target to $235 from $220 following Q1, valuing shares at 26x our 2027 EPS outlook of $9.04 (up from $8.99; 2026 EPS view revised to $8.50 from $8.28). IEX posted a robust Q1, with operating EPS of $2.00 rising 14% Y/Y and exceeding consensus by $0.23, propelled by standout performance in Health & Science Tech. Organic sales growth accelerated to 5% Y/Y from 1% in Q4, while orders hit a record $988M (up 10% Y/Y), signaling broadened demand. Health & Science Tech was the clear growth engine, delivering 11% organic sales growth alongside 100-bp adjusted EBITDA margin expansion to 26.6%. This strength was fueled by AI-driven demand for data center power solutions, semiconductor applications, and space & defense markets. Despite gross margin compression of 40 bps, adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 50 bps to 26%, suggesting the company's 80/20 initiatives are gaining traction.Overall, Q1 results were encouraging and contributed to our raised growth outlook for the year.

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Research Alert: CFRA Maintains Sell Opinion On Shares Of Patterson-uti Energy, Inc.

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:Our 12-month target price of $9.50, raised from $6.50, reflects a 4.8x multiple of enterprise value to projected '27 EBITDA, about in line with PTEN's historical forward average. Our DCF model, using a WACC of 7.7% and terminal growth of 2.0%, also finds shares to be slightly overvalued. We narrow our projected '26 operating loss per share by $0.13 to $0.21, and similarly, '27's by $0.27 to $0.02. Shares are trading about 20% above PTEN's historical forward average on EBITDA, and the bull case for the company rests on a near-term inflection point in its Completion Services segment (a segment that comprised 37% of Q1 2026 EBITDA before corporate expenses), in our view. To be fair, privately-held E&Ps do appear to be ramping up spending in response to the surge in crude oil prices, but we do not anticipate similar behavior from the public E&Ps until at least 2027, and possibly not to the degree that PTEN might hope.

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