Orbotech's Multi-Prong Growth Strategy Looking Better And Better

I liked Orbotech (ORBK) back in the summer of 2016, but my bullishness then underestimated the emergent momentum in the company’s business and the market’s enthusiasm for tool/machinery plays leveraged to trends like OLEDs. While Orbotech’s revenue growth can be erratic from quarter to quarter, the third quarter saw all the pieces coming together and management’s November analyst day laid out a bullish outlook for the next three years.

Valuation is less clear-cut to me now, with the shares up about 60% over the past twelve months and close to 250% over the past three years. Demand tied to advanced smartphones, AR/VR, OLED, and other applications should be able to drive double-digit revenue growth for the next few years and high single-digit growth for the long term, but it’s hard to have confidence that the good times will just keep rolling in what has long been a cyclical industry. Although, I think you can make a cogent argument that the company’s growth and margin prospects over the next three years can support a higher price; there’s not much of a safety net from discounted cash flow and I consider this a higher-risk prospect from valuation and earnings predictability standpoints.

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Orbotech's Multi-Prong Growth Strategy Looking Better And Better