FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

Willdan Seen Well Positioned for Grid, Data-Center Demand, Wedbush Says

By

-- Willdan Group (WLDN) stands to benefit from accelerating grid-modernization spending and rising data-center demand, suggesting the recent pullback in the stock was excessive, Wedbush Securities said Tuesday in a report.

The company is positioned to capture increased US infrastructure investment as policymakers prioritize grid capacity and reliability amid shortages in transformers and transmission equipment, the report said.

Willdan's work in substations, switchgear and power-systems engineering is also expected to see stronger demand as AI-driven data-center buildouts expand, the report said. The company's 2025 acquisition of APG added deeper expertise in substation design and construction management, strengthening its commercial-sector capabilities, Wedbush said.

Despite near-term pressure from the expiration of the 179D energy-efficiency tax incentive, Willdan's longer-term outlook remains supported by expectations for double-digit EBITDA growth and a strengthening pipeline of project demand, the report said.

Wedbush maintained its outperform rating on Willdan stock with a price target of $145.

Price: $70.48, Change: $+3.57, Percent Change: +5.33%

Related Articles

Sectors

Sector Update: Tech Stocks Fall Late Afternoon

Tech stocks fell late Tuesday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) dropping 1.5% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) slumping 4.4%.The Philadelphia Semiconductor index shed 3.3%.In corporate news, OpenAI recently missed its own targets for new users and revenue, the Wall Street Journal reported late Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Tech bellwether Nvidia (NVDA) fell 1.2%, Broadcom (AVGO) dropped 4.2%, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shed 3.1%, Oracle (ORCL) lost 3.6%, and Intel (INTC) declined 1.4%.Lam Research (LRCX), Applied Materials (AMAT) and KLA (KLAC) were among the chip equipment companies believed to have received a letter last week from the US Department of Commerce ordering them to halt certain tool shipments to China's second-largest chipmaker Hua Hong, Reuters reported. Lam declined 3%, Applied Materials dropped 5.1%, and KLA shed 4.1%.Amazon.com (AMZN) plans to make OpenAI's artificial intelligence models available to its customers after Microsoft (MSFT) relinquished its exclusive rights to resell the ChatGPT maker's products, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman in a Bloomberg Television interview. Amazon shares were down 0.6%, and Microsoft rose 0.6%.Spotify Technology (SPOT) reported stronger-than-expected Q1 profit, but its premium subscriber growth and outlook disappointed investors. The stock fell 12%.

$AMAT$AMD$AMZN$AVGO$INTC$KLAC$LRCX$MSFT$NVDA$ORCL$SPOT
Research

Research Alert: Paccar: Q1 Eps Match Expectations; Class-8 Outlook Reiterated

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:PCAR's Q1 results matched consensus with operating EPS of $1.15 vs. $0.96 in the prior year, supported by the absence of litigation charges that impacted Q1 2025. New truck deliveries fell 7K units to 33.1K globally, with North American Class-8 shipments declining while Europe showed strength. The Parts business managed positive expansion despite truck sales softness, benefiting from strategic investments in distribution infrastructure. Management maintained an upbeat tone on customer demand trends, though their North American outlook for retail Class-8 truck sales remained unchanged from Q4. PCAR generated healthy operating cash flow of $972M vs. $910M and maintained a strong balance sheet, in our view. Management projected full-year capex of ~$750M and R&D expenses of ~$475M for next-generation powertrains. We see the unchanged shipment projections as a signal that management is not entirely confident an inflection is occurring stronger than previously anticipated.

$PCAR
Australia

Erasca Shares Fall After Preliminary Phase 1 Dose Escalation Data

Erasca (ERAS) shares fell 48% Tuesday after the company reported preliminary phase 1 dose-escalation data for its experimental ERAS-0015 in patients with RAS-mutant solid tumors, including colorectal cancer, non-small-cell lung cancer and pancreatic adenocarcinoma.The preliminary data, from ongoing trials in the US and China, suggest ERAS-0015 may be combined with standard-of-care doses of panitumumab, positioning it as a potential backbone therapy for future combination regimens, the company said.The therapy was generally "well tolerated," with no dose-limiting toxicities or treatment discontinuations due to adverse events, according to a statement.Erasca said it selected 24 mg and 32 mg once daily as recommended doses for further study and said the drug showed "promising clinical potential" for combination use with panitumumab.In a regulatory filing, the company said a patient, who was a 66 year-old male with heavily pretreated metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma, had died. The company said grade 3 treatment-related adverse events of pneumonitis progressed to grade 5 following withdrawal of supportive care per patient decision.Price: $9.96, Change: $-9.20, Percent Change: -48.02%

$ERAS