In the after-hours session, the elevator suddenly fell—precipitously! with iRobot’s shares plummeting downward by $8.07, or 21 percent, to $30.23 (52wk high and low: 22.46 and 39.00). Enter the long faces of doom and gloom merchants quickly spilling over into the media with dire forecasts. Uh-oh, what’s happened to the darling of Massachusetts robotics? But wait, even more startling, why now, a week later, are analysts suddenly so upbeat on iRobot’s future?
For one thing, iRobot has no debt. The company also has a Price-Earnings Ratio of 16 due to the 21 percent decrease in its stock price. This is much better than the P/E value the company had before the elevator sank, which was 28. As such, iRobot is enjoying the lowest P/E ratio in its history. In addition, the company has a gross margin of 40.45% compared with an industry average of 26.05%, an operating margin of 10.21% compared with an industry average of 8.85%, and net profit margin of 8.15% compared with an industry average of 3.19%. Hmmm, suddenly the company is looking a bit healthier than everyone was led to believe.
Robots based on a humanoid form factor will eventually join us at home, in the workplace and in public places. Here’s what’s news in humanoid robotics.
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