Wolfe starts Nordson at Peer Perform, awaits more M&A flywheel evidence

As previously reported, Wolfe Research initiated coverage of Nordson (NDSN) with a Peer Perform rating and no price target Nordson has “historically been viewed in the industrial compounder bucket,” but questions around the M&A flywheel and cyclical headwinds in medical and semi markets have caused the stock to lag, the analyst tells investors. While the firm believes Nordson has “much of the internal DNA of an industrial compounder,” it would like to see more evidence of a smoothly spinning M&A flywheel, noting that it sees a a $172-$275 bear/bull spread. With Street EPS estimates for FY25/26 having reset about 8% lower over the past 15 months, estimates are “now in a pretty good spot,” though not a low bar, the analyst added.