KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 7): Pentamaster Corporation Bhd (KL:PENTA) fell on Friday as the automated test equipment company’s first-half results failed to impress investors.
Earnings reported made up less than one-third of the consensus full-year forecasts partly due to higher tax expenses from incentive expiry, prompting Nomura to downgrade the stock while Phillip Capital said it is placing its ‘hold’ recommendation under review.
“We keep our earnings forecast unchanged for now pending further details from the upcoming briefing on the new tax incentive application timeline,” Phillip Capital said.
Shares of Pentamaster fell as much as 37 sen or 6.5% to RM5.34 on Friday. The stock was trading at RM5.38 at 10am as more than seven million shares changed hands, giving the company that also provides factory automation services a market capitalisation of RM3.8 billion.
Before Friday’s decline, Pentamaster had rallied 47% since the start of 2026, tracking the gains of technology stocks amid a boom in artificial intelligence and advanced computing.
The consensus is now cautious and sees limited upside ahead, with five ‘buy’, seven ‘hold’, and no ‘sell’ calls post-results, according to the 12 analysts tracked by Bloomberg. The average 12-month target price is RM5.36.
Those still bullish on Pentamaster expect earnings to pick up in the second half of the year, pointing to its outstanding orders totalling RM550 million.
“We remain positive on Pentamaster, driven by the sustainable growth of its factory automation solutions business, fuelled by medical and artificial intelligence-driven automation demand,” said RHB Research, which maintained its ‘buy’ call on the stock.
Further, there are “expanding opportunities in advanced packaging and power-related test solutions” at a time of an upcycle in semiconductor capital expenditure, the house noted and raised its target price by RM1.28 to RM6.32.