SWIR

Sorry, I just posted this, but under another thread where people interested in SWIR will never find it. Here it is again.

It has caused me to take another look at reinvesting in Sierra Wireless. I owned it for a year and took a nice profit before selling out. Can you share your reasoning as to why you are willing to place almost 3% of your portfolio in SWIR? The price has dropped over 40% since the first of the year. This appears to be an attractive buying point if the fundamentals are still solid.

Hi Jim, First of all, since my top three positions make up 50% of my portfolio, and my top four make up almost 60%, the 2.9% I have in SWIR is a SMALL position. (It’s all relative).

It seems to me that this company has been transformed, passed a threshhold, in the past three years and people aren’t noticing. They are just focussed on how the price has dropped from $49 to $27. Here’s what I mean. These are adjusted earnings:

2012: -9 -11 04 15 = -1
2013: -2 03 11 10 = 22
2014: 02 08 24 29 = 63
2015: 22

Okay, we had yearly earnings of a loss of one cent, then positive 22 cents, then 63 cents, and trailing earnings are already 83 cents after the first quarter. If they don’t beat but just hit their outlook of about 23 cents for next quarter, they will be at 98 cents. I think an estimate of $1.20 for the end of 2015 would be reasonable (they probably will beat instead of meet outlook, etc), which would be up 90% with a PE of 22.5 and a forward end of 2015 1YPEG of 0.25.

Hope this helps.

Saul

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Saul- You are showing a transition from negative non-GAAP earnings in 
2012 to positive in 2013.  SWIR's statements from their website are 
showing positive $1.08 in 2012 then dropping 66% in 2013 to $0.37. 
Review of the quarters; all four quarters in 2012 as well as Q1 and Q3 
in 2013 are different.  

Did you make additional adjustments to SWIR's non-GAAP numbers?  Please 
explain.

non-GAAP earnings from SWIR website
           Q1   Q2    Q3    Q4    YR     YoY%
2010                              .64
2011                              .12    -82%
2012     .16   .30   .29   .33   1.08    800%
2013     .09   .03   .14   .10    .37    -66%
2014     .02   .08   .24   .29    .63     70%
2015     .22   .23e  .30e  .35e  1.10e    75%e
2016     .30e                    1.53e    39%e  
future estimates from Schwab website

Thank you for helping me improve my investing.

Respectfully,
Drake54
3 Likes

Thanks, Saul, for sharing your thoughts about SWIR.

The 40% drop in price does seem to be the focus of the market…which may be keeping SWIR under the radar for now. But the revenues are increasing nicely and the company has zero debt. They are increasing their sales and marketing budget and earmarking around 16% of revenue for R%D.

Bottom line, a reasonably priced company that is positioning itself for future growth.

I will be buying in the morning.

Jim

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Fools,

It looks like SWIR is indeed priced quite reasonably. Here are some observations:

During the previous 4 quarters the Adjusted P/E was between 36 & 78. If the adjusted earnings come in as expected, according to analysts (using Drake’s numbers), the potential price range assuming the same range is pretty impressive (see below) with the low already shown around the recent price.

If the 1 Yr. Peg stays around 1 (P/E & Growth at about the same level) to the end of 2016, there is upside to about $55 - $60 (same assumptions on earnings). Naturally, growth could be higher. The P/E has been much higher, which could lead to significant appreciation.


Month	EPS	TTM EPS	QoQ Gr	Hi	Lo	Close	P/E	P/E Hi	P/E Lo	1Yr. Peg
Mar-12	0.16			$8.41	$6.77	$7.32				
Jun-12	0.30			$9.77	$6.70	$9.03				
Sep-12	0.29			$9.83	$7.67	$7.78				
Dec-12	0.33	1.08		$8.40	$7.42	$7.94	7.4	7.8	6.9	
Mar-13	0.09	1.01	-43.8%	$12.18	$7.63	$10.59	10.5	12.1	7.6	-0.24
Jun-13	0.03	0.74	-90.0%	$13.03	$9.85	$12.80	17.3	17.6	13.3	-0.19
Sep-13	0.14	0.59	-51.7%	$16.75	$12.02	$16.37	27.7	28.4	20.4	-0.54
Dec-13	0.10	0.36	-69.7%	$24.25	$15.50	$24.17	67.1	67.4	43.1	-0.96
Mar-14	0.02	0.29	-77.8%	$26.65	$18.14	$21.83	75.3	91.9	62.6	-0.97
Jun-14	0.08	0.34	166.7%	$24.21	$16.98	$20.17	59.3	71.2	49.9	0.36
Sep-14	0.24	0.44	71.4%	$30.55	$18.50	$26.74	60.8	69.4	42.0	0.85
Dec-14	0.29	0.63	190.0%	$49.13	$22.65	$47.39	75.2	78.0	36.0	0.40
Mar-15	0.22	0.83	1000.0%	$48.30	$31.40	$33.09	39.9	58.2	37.8	0.04
====================================================================================
Jun-15	0.23	0.98	187.5%	$76.42	**$35.23**	$35.23	36.0	78.0	36.0	0.19
Sep-15	0.30	1.04	25.0%	$81.10	$37.39	$37.39	36.0	78.0	36.0	1.44
Dec-15	0.35	1.10	20.7%	$85.78	$39.55	$39.55	36.0	78.0	36.0	1.74
Mar-16	0.30	1.18	36.4%	$92.02	$42.42	$42.42	36.0	78.0	36.0	0.99
Jun-16	0.32	1.27	39.8%	$99.16	$45.71	$45.71	36.0	78.0	36.0	0.90
Sep-16	0.42	1.39	39.8%	$108.46	$50.00	$50.00	36.0	78.0	36.0	0.90
Dec-16	0.49	1.53	39.8%	**$119.32	$55.00**	$55.00	36.0	78.0	36.0	0.90

Here are running numbers of various company elements that can paint an interesting picture. Some quick observations:

  1. OEM Revenues and revenue growth exceed those of Enterprise. But Enterprise gross margins are higher. This could lead to some margin compression going forward, unless Enterprise revenues grow faster.

  2. YoY growth may be slowing down a bit. But it’s too early to tell with just these few data points.

  3. Earnings are accelerating (expected growth in FY16 is just under 40%). But I haven’t put enough thought or research into whether or not this will continue if revenue growth slows and margins compress.

Feel free to add any other comments or observations. :slight_smile:


Rev	Mar	Jun	Sep	Dec		GM	Mar	Jun	Sep	Dec		Grth	Mar	Jun	Sep	Dec
2012	92.3	95.4	100.2	109.4		2012	30.2%	31.6%	31.0%	33.1%		2012				
2013	101.4	109.6	112.3	118.6		2013	32.9%	33.3%	33.2%	32.4%		2013	9.8%	14.9%	12.1%	8.4%
2014	121.2	135.0	143.3	149.1		2014	31.9%	32.1%	32.9%	33.5%		2014	19.5%	23.2%	27.6%	25.7%
2015	150.4					2015	32.4%					2015	24.1%			
2016						2016						2016				
2017						2017						2017				
																
OEMRev	Mar	Jun	Sep	Dec		GM	Mar	Jun	Sep	Dec		Grth	Mar	Jun	Sep	Dec
2012	80.1	83.3	88.3	94.9		2012	27.3%	29.4%	28.4%	30.4%		2012				
2013	89.2	95.1	95.9	101.9		2013	29.8%	31.1%	30.7%	29.0%		2013	11.4%	14.2%	8.6%	7.4%
2014	106.2	116.6	124.3	129.6		2014	28.8%	28.9%	29.7%	30.4%		2014	19.0%	22.6%	29.7%	27.2%
2015	133.0					2015	30.0%					2015	25.3%			
2016						2016						2016				
2017						2017						2017				
																
EntRev	Mar	Jun	Sep	Dec		GM	Mar	Jun	Sep	Dec		Grth	Mar	Jun	Sep	Dec
2012	12.2	12.1	11.9	14.5		2012	49.2%	46.5%	50.3%	50.8%		2012				
2013	12.2	14.5	16.4	16.8		2013	55.6%	47.6%	48.1%	53.3%		2013	-0.5%	20.0%	37.8%	15.3%
2014	15.0	18.4	18.9	19.5		2014	53.8%	52.4%	53.7%	54.2%		2014	23.3%	27.0%	15.4%	16.4%
2015	17.4					2015	51.1%					2015	15.8%			
2016						2016						2016				
2017						2017						2017				
																
AEarn	Mar	Jun	Sep	Dec		TTM	Mar	Jun	Sep	Dec		WA Shrs	Mar	Jun	Sep	Dec
2012	-2.81	-3.38	1.25	4.49		2012				-0.4		2012			30.573	30.774
2013	-0.71	1.05	3.48	3.12		2013	1.7	6.1	8.3	6.9		2013	30.695	30.768	31.176	30.804
2014	0.48	2.59	7.68	9.09		2014	8.1	9.7	13.9	19.8		2014	31.235	31.446	31.582	31.759
2015	7.18					2015	26.5	24.0	16.3	7.2		2015	31.983			
2016						2016	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0		2016				
2017						2017	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0		2017				
																
AEPS	Mar	Jun	Sep	Dec		TTM	Mar	Jun	Sep	Dec		Cash	Mar	Jun	Sep	Dec
2012	-0.09	-0.11	0.04	0.15		2012				-0.01		2012		$123.2	$59.5	$63.6
2013	-0.02	0.03	0.11	0.10		2013	0.06	0.20	0.27	0.22		2013	$55.9	$166.6	$183.2	$177.4
2014	0.02	0.08	0.24	0.29		2014	0.26	0.31	0.44	0.63		2014	$151.3	$168.4	$196.1	$207.1
2015	0.22					2015	0.83	0.75	0.51	0.22		2015	$99.6			
2016						2016	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00		2016				
2017						2017	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00		2017				

Unfortunately, this sheet is in draft form. I should have it cleaned up and double-checked after the next earnings release, at which time I’ll put it on Google Sheets and provide a link.

So my initial thought is that SWIR is a pretty good buy right now, based primarily on the business doing well and the historical valuation range.

Even with a relatively low P/E, the stock could appreciate about 50% by the end of next year, far exceeding Saul’s goal of 30% annually. I don’t like the revenue growth slowing and the high-margin business being lower growth. But these observations could be wrong. Let’s see what happens when they report this quarter’s numbers and provide their outlook.

DJ

12 Likes

DJ

Awesome writeup! Although I failed to mention it last time I really enjoyed looking at your last breakout sheet. Very clear and concise information - all in one place.

I have a work in progress screener sheet as you know to make it easier to calculate and identify stocks with a low 1YPEG. I’ve recently added a YoY revenue growth column to further help with the assessment process.

For the stocks that move beyond “candidate” and into discussion I am wondering if you’d consider combining efforts? My proposal is my screener sheet in the beginning to list all the stocks under consideration followed by your breakout sheet(s) for any stock that satisfies analysis. Each sheet would have its own ‘owner/analyst’ covering the breakout details.

What do you think?

–Kevin

2 Likes

Re: SWIR

Another point of view

http://discussion.fool.com/jon-schreiber-in-part-david-used-to-h…

http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=SWIR&p=D&yr=0&m…

The daily and weekly charts gave a buy signal after the bubbles have popped awaiting a sell bubble to pop.

Just a thought,

Quillnpenn -

2 Likes

Hey Quill:

You do know that TA is the devil’s work right? :wink:

You did a nice analysis in that link and I would only add that buying a stock below its 200 d MA takes real conviction IMO.

There is no rush to get into a stock that has lost its mojo even if the FA looks appealing.

This stock ran up real fast…and despite the appeal of the FA, is it crucial to buy it at this moment vs letting the downward momentum settle out a bit?

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FourthStooge, I like your write up, but would suggest a change, if you want to reflect Saul’s 1yrPEG. On your 1yrPEG it appears you are using QoQ EPS growth rather than ttm EPS growth, for example 39.9/(.22/.02>1000%)=.04 vs 39.9/ (83/29>186%)= .21.

Respectfully,
Drake54

Hi Drake, I fixed the spreadsheet. Thanks! -DJ