Friday, KeyBanc Capital downgraded Colfax Corp. (CFX) shares to Hold from Buy. Analyst Jeffrey Hammond downgraded the stock following recent share price performance.
The analyst continues to like the long-term story at CFX, underpinned by its exposure to attractive end markets with solid long-term growth fundamentals, strong visibility and leading market share positions. That said, shares have staged a solid recovery over the past several months, up 65% off their October 28 bottom, and the analyst believes current valuation represents a less compelling new entry point.
Additionally, while the analyst acknowledges that CFX's commercial marine exposure extends beyond drybulk shipping, negative announcements out of Genco Shipping and Dryships point to a pause in carrier capex spending pending signs of commodity price normalization, which have proven elusive thus far.
The analyst believes CFX's current backlog and order momentum should position the company for a solid first half of 2009. However, the analyst would look for greater visibility into second half of 2009 before becoming more constructive.
As a result, the analyst believes shares will remain range-bound from here pending further clarity and are downgrading the stock to Hold. Elsewhere in CFX's product portfolio, the analyst believes trends remain fairly healthy, and he would anticipate generally stable demand overall with solid growth through first half of 2009.
Given the long-cycle nature of the company's business and exposure to still-favorable power generation, navy, and oil & gas markets, the analyst believes near-term demand trends will prove resilient and would look for stability of the company's earnings stream through 2009, in what will likely be a challenging year for many industrial companies.
Currently, CFX is down $1.69 or 16.68% and trading at $8.44.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.