Maxwell Technologies Inc. Stock Upgraded (MXWL)

Editor's Note: 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

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Maxwell Technologies (Nasdaq:MXWL) has been upgraded by TheStreet Ratings from sell to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and impressive record of earnings per share growth. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself and weak operating cash flow.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• MXWL's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 3.5%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 6.2%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
• MXWL's debt-to-equity ratio is very low at 0.09 and is currently below that of the industry average, implying that there has been very successful management of debt levels. To add to this, MXWL has a quick ratio of 1.55, which demonstrates the ability of the company to cover short-term liquidity needs.
• Net operating cash flow has significantly decreased to -$2.23 million or 835.71% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, when comparing to the industry average, the firm's growth rate is much lower.
• MXWL's stock share price has done very poorly compared to where it was a year ago: Despite any rallies, the net result is that it is down by 51.02%, which is also worse that the performance of the S&P 500 Index. Investors have so far failed to pay much attention to the earnings improvements the company has managed to achieve over the last quarter. Despite the heavy decline in its share price, this stock is still more expensive (when compared to its current earnings) than most other companies in its industry.

Maxwell Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets energy storage and power delivery products, and microelectronic products worldwide. The company has a P/E ratio of 42.3, equal to the average electronics industry P/E ratio and above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Maxwell has a market cap of $222.2 million and is part of the technology sector and electronics industry. Shares are down 53.1% year to date as of the close of trading on Wednesday.

You can view the full Maxwell Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

Editor's Note: 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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For more information on Maxwell Technologies Inc. click any of the following:

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• Maxwell Technologies Inc. Growth Rates

• Maxwell Technologies Inc. Balance Sheet

• Maxwell Technologies Inc. Cash Flow

• Maxwell Technologies Inc. Income Statement