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Fortive (FTV) Acquires EA GmbH to Boost Tektronix Business

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Fortive Corporation (FTV - Free Report) announced that it has completed the acquisition of a leading company of high-power electronic testing solutions for energy storage, mobility, hydrogen, and renewable energy applications — EA Elektro-Automatik Holding GmbH.

The acquisition is valued at $1.45 billion in cash, accounting for $215 million in tax benefits from Bregal Unternehmerkapital. The company will provide more information regarding the same on its fourth-quarter 2023 earnings call in January 2024.

The acquisition will strengthen Tektronix’s unique array of goods and services, which provides engineers with complementary test and measurement solutions to enable the worldwide energy transition. The acquisition will likely help Fortive to bolster its position in the electronic testing and measurement market.

Apart from this, the acquisition will likely improve Fortive's position in high-growth markets across various industries and generate substantial value for both customers and shareholders.

Fortive is a diversified industrial growth company that provides industrial technology and professional instrumentation solutions on a global basis. The company plans to further grow its business using a five-way strategy. It plans to expand its market position in line with secular growth trends. FTV has transitioned its software offering in line with the growing demand for artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Going ahead, the company aims to tackle the overall cyclicality of its businesses by investing in multiyear megatrends, like automation, digitization and electrification. The company continues to pursue strategic acquisitions to expand its market share and improve its product portfolio. In September 2023, the company’s subsidiary Fluke Corp completed the acquisition of Solmetric. The acquisition aligns with the company’s effort to expand its footprint in the electrification market.

Prior to that, the company’s subsidiary, Fluke Reliability, completed the acquisition of Azima DLI. The acquisition aligns with Fluke Reliability's connected reliability approach, which involves merging hardware, software, and remote monitoring services to tackle the reliability demands of assets.

Fortive currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Shares of the company have gained 8.9% in the past year compared with the sub-industry’s growth of 4.5%.

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Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks worth considering in the broader technology space are Blackbaud (BLKB - Free Report) , NETGEAR (NTGR - Free Report) and Watts Water Technologies (WTS - Free Report) . NETGEAR sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Blackbaud and Watts Water Technologies carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Blackbaud’s 2023 EPS has inched up 1.8% in the past 60 days to $3.86. BLKB’s long-term earnings growth rate is 23.4%.

Blackbaud’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 10.6%. Shares of BLKB have gained 52% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 is pegged at a loss of 9 cents per share for NETGEAR, which remained unchanged in the past 30 days.

NTGR’s earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters while missing once. The average surprise was 127.5%. Shares of NTGR lost 16% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Watts Water Technologies 2023 EPS has improved 3.9% in the past 60 days to $8.08.

WTS’ earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 11.8%. Shares of WTS have soared 41% in the past year.

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