Materion: I Was Being Too Cautious (Rating Upgrade)

Materion is upgraded from Hold to Buy as core margin expansion and accelerating value-added sales drive a bullish outlook. MTRN's EBITDA margins on value-added sales have rebounded to 23.1%, with record backlog up 30% YoY and robust demand in Electronic Materials, especially defense. Pass-through metal sales inflate reported revenues, but underlying core business shows genuine margin and order growth, supporting a 12% CAGR forecast to 2030.