ROK Should I Buy

As previously reported, Oppenheimer analyst Noah Kaye downgraded Rockwell Automation to Perform from Outperform. The firm notes Rockwell has made meaningful progress on operational excellence initiatives, realizing substantial margin expansion against weak end-markets, while laying out a technology roadmap supportive of continued share strength. Oppenheimer believes this progress, along with market expectations for inflection in manufacturing activity, may be priced into the shares, which now sit near record valuation levels. The firm expects modest sequential improvement in orders over the next few quarters, rather than material acceleration, given leading industrial indicators.