Shares of Franklin Park, Ill.-based Rubicon Technologies (Nasdaq:RBCN) hit a 52-week high today following a report from Canaccord Adams analyst Jed Dorsheimer that doubled the price target for the LED-component maker.
The stock closed at $15.68, slightly down from the high, but still reflecting a 44 percent gain during the past two weeks. Dorsheimer set a new price target of $22, up from $11, and changed his rating from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’.
Dorsheimer attributed the outlook to the boom in demand for LED backlight for liquid crystal display televisions.
“The faster-than-expected ramp of LED LCD backlighting, which began a few months ago, caught the LED manufacturers off guard,” he said in the report.
Earlier this year, LED makers’ production rates were at less than 30 percent of their capacity after year-over-year pricing declines of 50 percent, he said. Now, costs have stabilized and the manufacturers are at nearly 100 percent utilization of production facilities, he said.
Rubicon makes a sapphire crystal used in the production of LEDs. Dorsheimer said Rubicon is likely using more than 80 percent of its factory capacity, up from 60 percent at the end of the second quarter.
The likely impact in the LED industry is that …
