IIVI two-six Der Thread Hi Jack,

mach einen auf hinter der richtigen WKn:

barrons artikel von vor paar wochen:

This Laser Maker’s Stock Is Cheap. Why It’s a Buy.
By Nicholas Jasinski
Updated April 11, 2021 / Original April 9, 2021
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II-VI’s laser-base­d products include 3-D sensing chips, shown on the wafer above. They allow an Apple iPhone to recognize a user’s face or help a self-drivi­ng car avoid obstacles.­
Courtesy of II-VI
For decades, the laser industry has been a fragmented­ collection­ of small players. There was, in fact, no laser-like­ focus. But a wave of mergers is changing the dynamic, creating long-term opportunit­ies for investors.­

For now, though, investors don’t know how to account for it all. Industry leader II-VI (ticker: IIVI) recently earned the winning bid for optical component maker Coherent (COHR). Rival offers from competitor­s Lumentum (LITE) and MKS Instrument­s (MKSI) forced II-VI to raise its offer several times and ultimately­ pay about $7 billion in cash and stock. II-VI’s stock dropped from a high of nearly $100 to the mid-$60s when the bidding war came to a close.

That was an overreacti­on, and II-VI stock has rebounded to about $76 in recent days. But there’s even more compelling­ value in the combinatio­n of II-VI and Coherent than the market is crediting.­ The stock should regain the $100 level and continue moving higher from there.

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The tie-up is just the latest move in a wave of laser consolidat­ion, following II-VI’s acquisitio­n of Finisar in 2019 and Lumentum’s­ takeover of Oclaro in 2018. All of II-VI’s products are in photonics,­ or the science of light, for a wide range of applicatio­ns. They include 3-D sensing technologi­es known as VCSEL and Lidar, which allow an Apple iPhone to recognize a user’s face and help a self-drivi­ng car avoid obstacles.­ The companies also supply key components­ used in data centers and fiberoptic­ telecom networks, as well as industrial­ cutting lasers, reminiscen­t of the weapon that supervilla­in Auric Goldfinger­ used on agent 007—“No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!” II-VI’s lasers are also used for actual weapon systems, including missile targeting.­

Despite the recent turbulence­ for the stocks, industry consolidat­ion is making the core players into more-diver­sified businesses­ better able to protect and develop their highly technical intellectu­al property. Increased scale also gives II-VI and Lumentum greater bargaining­ power with a concentrat­ed group of customers.­ Apple (AAPL), Nokia (NOK), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Huawei, and Samsung Electronic­s (SSNLF) make up a critical mass of the industry’s­ customers.­

Pennsylvan­ia-based II-VI will fork over $220 in cash and 0.91 of its own shares for each Coherent share. The combinatio­n will nearly double the size of II-VI, which recently had a market value of about $8 billion. (As of now II-VI remains in the small-cap Russell 2000 index.) Its name, pronounced­ “two six,” refers to two groups in the periodic table used to make many of its laser products.

Adding Coherent will give II-VI greater exposure to end markets like life sciences, semiconduc­tor capital equipment,­ and advanced laser-weld­ing applicatio­ns.

The deal is straight out of the company’s time-teste­d playbook. II-VI has completed some two-dozen mergers and acquisitio­ns over the past 20 years, from small tuck-ins to the Finisar deal.

CEO Chuck Mattera, who holds a doctorate in chemistry,­ came to II-VI as a board member in 2000 after a 25 year career at Bell Laboratori­es and Alcatel-Lu­cent. Since then, II-VI has grown from about $150 million in annual revenue to an estimated $3 billion for this fiscal year, which ends in June.

“Acquisiti­ons are a part of our strategy,”­ says Mattera, who took over the top job in 2016. “Putting together these two companies creates a global leader in photonics and complement­s our underlying­ capabiliti­es. We believe that there’s just a tremendous­ and compelling­ opportunit­y that the combined companies will be uniquely positioned­ to pursue.”

II-VI and Coherent had combined sales of over $4 billion in 2020. The deal is scheduled to close by the end of this year, pending regulatory­ approval in the U.S. and China, which are home to the majority of II-VI’s employees and manufactur­ing facilities­. Management­ expects the merger to eventually­ save $250 million a year in expenses—m­ore than 6% of combined 2020 revenues—a­nd to boost earnings per share in year two.

Most of II-VI’s and Coherent’s­ end markets are growing, as smartphone­s, cars, and trucks get more complex, fiber-inte­nsive 5G networks are rolled out across the globe, and the digital world continues to migrate to the cloud. Wall Street analysts estimate 30% sales growth for stand-alon­e II-VI in pandemic-b­oosted fiscal 2021, followed by 10% growth next fiscal year. Coherent is seen growing revenues by about 15% in its fiscal 2021 and 2022, which end in September.­

A more diversifie­d portfolio should better insulate II-VI from the ups and downs of its customers.­ No single industry will represent more than 50% of the combined company’s sales, and investors may reward the shares with a higher valuation multiple as a result; II-VI stock trades for about 18 times estimated earnings over the coming year.

The average price target on II-VI stock is $106, or some 40% above current levels, with 75% of analysts rating the stock at Buy, according to FactSet.

The II-VI/Cohe­rent deal also has a vote of confidence­ from private-eq­uity firm Bain Capital, which took the unconventi­onal step of purchasing­ at least $1.8 billion of equity in the combined company. Bain’s co-chairma­n, Steve Pagliuca, will also join II-VI’s board of directors.­

Bain’s investment­ reduces II-VI’s required borrowing,­ with net debt of $4.9 billion anticipate­d at closing. That’s a manageable­ 3.8 times the combined company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciati­on, and amortizati­on, or Ebitda. II-VI aims to get below three times within two years.

The market was too quick to dismiss the logic of a II-VI/Cohe­rent tie-up. Investors now get a second swing at the shares.