Motorcar Parts Of America Inc. Stock Downgraded (MPAA)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Motorcar Parts of America (Nasdaq:MPAA) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from hold to sell. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its deteriorating net income, generally weak debt management, disappointing return on equity, generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself and feeble growth in its earnings per share.

Highlights from the ratings report include:

• The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Auto Components industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 712.8% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from $3.76 million to -$23.05 million.
• The debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21 is relatively high when compared with the industry average, suggesting a need for better debt level management. Along with this, the company manages to maintain a quick ratio of 0.12, which clearly demonstrates the inability to cover short-term cash needs.
• Return on equity has greatly decreased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of major weakness within the corporation. Compared to other companies in the Auto Components industry and the overall market, MOTORCAR PARTS OF AMER INC's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
• Despite any intermediate fluctuations, we have only bad news to report on this stock's performance over the last year: it has tumbled by 71.46%, worse than the S&P 500's performance. Consistent with the plunge in the stock price, the company's earnings per share are down 713.33% compared to the year-earlier quarter. Naturally, the overall market trend is bound to be a significant factor. However, in one sense, the stock's sharp decline last year is a positive for future investors, making it cheaper (in proportion to its earnings over the past year) than most other stocks in its industry. But due to other concerns, we feel the stock is still not a good buy right now.
• MOTORCAR PARTS OF AMER INC has exprienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. We feel it is likely to report a decline in earnings in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, MOTORCAR PARTS OF AMER INC increased its bottom line by earning $0.99 versus $0.80 in the prior year. For the next year, the market is expecting a contraction of 132.8% in earnings (-$0.33 versus $0.99).

Motorcar Parts of America Inc., together with its subsidiaries, remanufactures, produces, and distributes automobile parts for import and domestic cars, light trucks, heavy duty, agricultural, and industrial applications in the United States and Canada. Motorcar Parts of America has a market cap of $65.3 million and is part of the consumer goods sector and automotive industry. Shares are down 42.8% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday.

You can view the full Motorcar Parts of America Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

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