October 31, 2024
Top 10 Stock Reply Buy Recommendation
How to read the ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Snapshot: Reply – Top 10 Stock in Milano Italia Borsa Index MIB
Reply is listed as a top 10 stock on October 31, 2024 in the market index MIB because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. Three consolidated Obermatt Ranks are above-average. Only the Value Rank is below average. The investment rationale may be an investment in future growth, supported by professional market opinion. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 61 (high 61% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall buy recommendation for Reply on October 31, 2024.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | Italy |
| Industry | IT Consulting & oth. Services |
| Index | MIB, Sound Pay Europe |
| Size class | Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° View Reply Buy
| 360 METRICS | October 31, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 11 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 81 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 66 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 78 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 61 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 61 (better than 61% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Reply are above average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Reply. The consolidated Growth Rank has a good rank of 81, which means that the company experiences above-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, and invested capital growth, as well as stock returns. This means that growth is higher than for 81% of competitors in the same industry. The consolidated Safety Rank at 66 means that the company has a financing structure that is safer than 66% comparable companies when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. Finally, the consolidated Sentiment Rank has a good rank of 78, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 78% of alternative investment opportunities. But the consolidated Value Rank is less desirable at 11, meaning that the share price of Reply is on the higher side compared with indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means the stock price is higher than for 89% of alternative stocks in the same industry. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 61, Reply is better positioned than 61% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. As three out of four consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, such as above-average growth (Growth Rank of 81), a safe financing structure (Safety Rank of 66), and positive professional market sentiment (Sentiment Rank of 78), it is a solid stock investment where growth may be the strongest driver of the investment rationale, also reflected by institutional investors. It is typical for growth companies to have low value, as is the case here. Investors are willing to pay more for companies that outperform their competitors. So the question is, how much more do you pay for the stock of Reply compared with alternatives? You can use the following rule of thumb: The growth rank measures the growth momentum of the company (81% better than peers). The value rank could be the reverse reflection of that (19%). A Value Rank below that level may be assessed as expensive, a rank above that is still good value. Sometimes market sentiment just reflects the past, sometimes the reality. You pay more than the market average for this stock, but it may be worth it. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for Reply very positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 78 (better than 78% compared with alternatives) for 2024, overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Reply is very positive. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Reply. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 27 (worse than 73% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to warn against investing in the stock of the company. But they are changing their opinions! Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 50, which indicates a shift in stock research experts opinions for the better. In other words, they are getting more optimistic about stock investments in Reply. Even better, the Professional Investors rank is 94, meaning that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 94% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Furthermore, Market Pulse has a rank of 83, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are upbeat when discussing this company (more positive news than for 83% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 78 (more positive than 78% compared with investment alternatives), Reply has a reputation among professional investors that is significantly higher than that of its competitors. While analysts are still critical of the company, some are changing their minds. In addition, the professional news channels are optimistic, and many institutional investors have already bought stock in the company. These are encouraging signals, despite the still lower level of analyst recommendations. They may be due to a problematic past, and about to change. The positive sentiment signals are stronger than the negative. ...read more
Value Strategy: Reply Stock Price Value low
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 11 (worse than 89% compared with alternatives), Reply shares are significantly more expensive than comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all four indicators below average for Reply. Price-to-Sales is 34 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than 66% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning Reply's sales levels. Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) also has a low Price-to-Book Rank of 28, which means that both reliable company size indicators, sales, and invested capital cannot explain the high stock price of Reply. In addition, the two profit-related value indicators, Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) with a low rank of 28 and Dividend Yield, which is lower than 63% of comparable companies, also make the stock more expensive compared with investment alternatives. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 11, is a sell recommendation based on Reply's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. How can market participants pay such a high price for Reply? One reason may be that the company is simply too popular. If enough people want a particular stock, its price can exceed reasonable levels. This is often the case for companies offering new and exciting products and everybody wants a piece of the action. Should you pay a lot for a hot stock such as Reply? It's risky, and even if the stock price continues to grow because of popular demand, it may return to more typical lower levels later. And that return can be sudden and quick, making it impossible for retail investors to exit on time. Sometimes, high prices are deserved. This is the case when it is justified to believe that the company will dominate a market with high profit margins. It has happened in the past for many technology companies and indeed for commercially successful pharmaceutical discoveries. Sometimes they last, sometimes, they get eaten alive. Reply may be such a type of stock. That would mean, retail investors should be careful, only considering investing a small part of their wealth in this exciting category and always being ready to lose more than half, if not all of the investment. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Reply Growth Momentum high
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 81 (better than 81% compared with alternatives) for 2024, Reply shows one of the highest growth dynamics in its industry. Investors also speak of high momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all four indicators above average for Reply. Sales Growth has a value of 59, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 59% of its competitors. The same is valid for Profit Growth with a value of 58 and for Capital Growth with 56. In addition, Stock Returns had an above-average rank value of 91, which means they have been higher than 91% of comparable investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 81, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Since all Growth Ranks are positive, Reply exhibits above-average growth momentum. This could be due to a uniquely strong market position, proprietary technology, or an extensive corporate acquisition strategy. Growth investors will find this an attractive investment opportunity, unless they expect that the current phase is transitory and will deteriorate in the future. The current performance could also be a temporary recovery from a very low point, such as a turn-around situation. In the case of a turn-around, the current performance may or may not be followed by a continuing positive development. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Reply Debt Financing Safety above-average
| SAFETY METRICS | October 31, 2024 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 67 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 49 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 75 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 66 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 66 (better than 66% compared with alternatives), the company Reply has financing practices on the safer side, which mean that their overall debt burden is lower than average. This doesn't mean that the business of Reply is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above average for Reply. Leverage is at a rank of 67, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 67% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at a rank of 75, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 75% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the safer side when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is lower at a rank of 49, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above-average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 51% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 66 (better than 66% compared with alternatives), Reply has a financing structure that is safer than that of its competitors. The refinancing issues could be a short-term problem, especially if the company has reputation issues. Banks and investors don't like to refinance debt if there are clouds on the horizon. For this reason, investors should look at the refinancing environment for Reply. Does it look safe that debt that is coming due can be covered with new debt? If that is the case, then the financing situation of the company is on the safer side. If not, it may be better to wait until refinancing has been completed and the Refinancing rank is good again. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: Reply Below-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | October 31, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 11 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 81 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 75 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 36 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 36 (worse than 64% compared with investment alternatives), Reply (IT Consulting & oth. Services, Italy) shares have somewhat below-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Reply are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 11 (worse than 89% of alternatives). But they show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 81) and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 66, which means below-average debt burdens). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 36, is a hold recommendation based on Reply's financial characteristics. Investors looking for growth and low financial risk may find this stock attractive. While the company Reply exhibits low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 11), which means that the stock price is rather high, it also demonstrates above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 81). This is a typical case, as high-growth companies are often expensive. Good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 66) are a double-edged sword: if the company continues growing, low debt limits shareholder returns. But if the company increases its debt, it will also increase risk. In other words, this is an investment on the safer side, despite the above-average price (low value). ...read more
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