Beacon raises price target on Firan Technology to $26.00

Beacon Securities analyst Russell Stanley raised his target on Firan Technology Group (Firan Technology Group Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts, Financials TSX:FTG) to $26.00 from $23.00 and said “Buy” after first-quarter results beat both his estimates and headline consensus.

“Given a strengthening demand outlook, we view this dip as a particularly attractive buying opportunity,” Stanley said in an April 9 note. He attributed the stock’s weakness to profit-taking after a strong run and to results that fell short of the Street’s highest estimates, despite beating consensus.

FTG reported first-quarter revenue of $47.0-million, Adjusted EBITDA of $7.3-million and diluted EPS of $0.14, ahead of Stanley’s forecasts of $45.0-million, $5.8-million and $0.07, and above consensus of $45.0-million, $7.0-million and $0.10. Gross margin slipped only modestly despite foreign exchange and hedging headwinds, with operational improvements largely offsetting the pressure.

Bookings came in at $60.0-million for a 1.27x book-to-bill ratio, while backlog rose to $158.0-million, up 11% year over year. Stanley said demand remains strong across aerospace and defence, helped by initial orders on two new classified defence programs and larger orders from Aerospace Calgary.

He added that the new defence programs should contribute modestly in fiscal 2026 before ramping more meaningfully in 2027. FTG also ended the quarter with nearly $13.0-million in cash and generated $4.9-million in free cash flow, while retaining additional balance-sheet capacity for acquisitions. Europe remains its top M&A priority.

Stanley said FTG should generate Adjusted EBITDA of $35.0-million on revenue of $209.0-million in fiscal 2026, improving to Adjusted EBITDA of $46.0-million on revenue of $235.0-million in fiscal 2027.

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