Newport (NASDAQ: NEWP) posted much stronger-than-expected Q4 numbers, and as a result Needham & Company reiterate their Buy rating and raised their price target from $21 to $23.

Analyst James Ricchiut notes orders were up 30% quarter-over-quarter in many of NEWP's major verticals: Life and Health Sciences, Microelectronics, Scientific Research. In addition, Industrial and OEM, and Defense and Security all showed solid results. The new outlook for Q1 make the stock a strong candidate to outperform.

"NEWP shares are trading at less than 12x our 2015 non-GAAP EPS estimate, representing a discount to its peer group. Our $23 target price (was $21) translates to 14x our 2016 non-GAAP estimate," the analyst noted.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Newport Corp. click here. For more ratings news on Newport Corp. click here.

Shares of Newport Corp. closed at $19.54 yesterday.