Why Maxwell Shares Skyrocketed

Updated
Why Maxwell Shares Skyrocketed

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Maxwell Technologies soared to a gain of over 20% in midday trading, but have settled into a (still-impressive) gain of 17% as of this writing, after the company issued a restatement for its 2012 annual report, and for the first two quarterly reports of 2013.

So what: Maxwell's restatements resulted in a decrease of $10.1 million in revenue for fiscal 2011, and a decrease of $9.2 million in revenue for the first three quarters of 2012. These revenues appear to have been "pulled forward" into subsequent quarters -- $7.2 million has now been recognized as revenue as of the most recently reported quarter, with $9.5 yet to be recorded.


As a result of these restatements, the company now has $15.4 million worth of shipments (including another $5.9 million in shipments over the most recent three quarters) that have not yet been accounted for as revenue. These shipments will impact the top line in future periods, but there's nothing much in the restatement about that all-important bottom line.

Now what: Maxwell seems reasonably valued for a small tech-component supplier at a P/E just over 25 (as of this writing). Its revenue will still be on an upward trajectory after this restatement, and the company's also recently poked into positive income territory as well. It might be a good idea to keep your eye on this company, but it's going to take a bit more digging to determine whether it's really worth your long-term trust, or if this is just a momentum play for the moment that could turn into a value trap.

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The article Why Maxwell Shares Skyrocketed originally appeared on Fool.com.

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