StockNews.com Upgrades Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) to Hold

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLIC opened at $47.54 on Thursday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a twelve month low of $38.20 and a twelve month high of $56.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.75. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.65 and a beta of 1.37.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $181.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.03 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 9.77%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total transaction of $448,261.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,916 shares in the company, valued at $3,773,870.12. This represents a 10.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total value of $564,082.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,838 shares in the company, valued at $1,031,897.76. This trade represents a 35.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 221,121 shares of company stock worth $10,527,843. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 61.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 101.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Company Profile

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells capital equipment and tools used to assemble semiconductor devices. It operates through four segments: Ball Bonding Equipment, Wedge Bonding Equipment, Advanced Solutions, and Aftermarket Products and Services (APS). The company offers ball bonding equipment, wafer level bonding equipment, wedge bonding equipment; and advanced display, die-attach, and thermocompression systems and solutions, as well as tools, spares and services for equipment.