Shares of motion sensor specialist InvenSense Inc (NYSE:INVN) popped 8% Friday after Piper Jaffray analyst Auguste Richard told investors he thinks the company could achieve $75 million in sales for its fiscal second quarter, which ends in September. For those of you keeping track, that’s around $8 million more than the consensus analyst estimates dictate.
As it stands, Richard unsurprisingly holds an “overweight” rating on shares of InvenSense with a price target of $27, or nearly 85% higher than today’s levels around $14.60 per share.
So what has the folks at Piper Jaffray so excited now?
The Cupertino effect
As it turns out, the key this time around lies with Richard’s belief that InvenSense Inc (NYSE:INVN) is enjoying an “elevated level of design activity” in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)‘s recently announced iOS 7 operating system. As a result, Richard says, Apple could provide as much as $35 to $40 million in additional revenue for the smaller company as it integrates its motion sensors into new iDevices.
Of course, nobody could blame Apple for admiring InvenSense’s work; just last month, I noted the company announced a few key innovations that could very well cause mobile device makers to drool with anticipation.
More specifically, the first involved a pair of tiny sensors InvenSense Inc (NYSE:INVN) called the “world’s smallest dual-axis gyroscopes for optical image stabilization in smartphones,” aimed at eliminating jitter to achieve blur-free images and video. Even better, these new products also afford smartphone designers a 41% physical footprint reduction, 28% lower profile, and 50% lower power usage than the nearest competing devices.
Another innovation came with the unveiling of InvenSense Inc (NYSE:INVN)’s MPU-6521, which stands alone as the “world’s smallest, lowest profile, and lowest power 6-axis” motion tracking device, which itself consumes 60% less power than competing solutions.
Foolish final thoughts
Given ever-increasing demand from consumers for thinner, more streamlined devices, the advantage of using smaller, power-sipping motion sensors from innovative companies like InvenSense cannot be overstated.
So, when we consider the millions upon millions of smartphones and tablets Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) inevitably sells with each new product it creates, you can bet InvenSense investors certainly won’t complain if this analyst prediction comes to fruition.
Best of all, however, is that at less than 25 times last year’s earnings and around 17.4 times next year’s estimates, InvenSense Inc (NYSE:INVN) stock doesn’t look particularly expensive, anyway. In fact, when you back out the company’s more than $200 million in cash with no debt at the end of last quarter, those multiples drop to an even more reasonable 20.8 and 14.6 times trailing and future earnings, respectively.
As a result, I’m convinced investors who buy today should be more than happy with the end-result as InvenSense’s market continues to grow.
The article InvenSense Popped 8%: Should You Buy Now? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Steve Symington.
Fool contributor Steve Symington owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool recommends Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple and InvenSense.
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