PDF Solutions (NASDAQ:PDFS) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

PDF Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDFS) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $21.97, but opened at $23.36. PDF Solutions shares last traded at $23.59, with a volume of 61,436 shares changing hands.

Specifically, CEO John Kachig Kibarian purchased 34,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $783,316.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,507,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,162,153.60. This represents a 1.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael B. Gustafson bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $23.06 per share, with a total value of $92,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $520,556.44. This represents a 21.54 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PDFS shares. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on shares of PDF Solutions from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of PDF Solutions in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of PDF Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

PDF Solutions Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $865.03 million, a P/E ratio of 223.10 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.18.

PDF Solutions (NASDAQ:PDFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The technology company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.15). PDF Solutions had a net margin of 2.26% and a return on equity of 3.94%. The company had revenue of $50.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.40 million. Analysts anticipate that PDF Solutions, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PDF Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PDFS. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in PDF Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in PDF Solutions by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in PDF Solutions by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,042 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in PDF Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $136,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in PDF Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $160,000. 79.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PDF Solutions

PDF Solutions, Inc provides proprietary software and physical intellectual property products for integrated circuit designs, electrical measurement hardware tools, proven methodologies, and professional services in the United States, China, Japan, and internationally. The company offers Exensio software products, such as Manufacturing Analytics that store collected data in a common environment with a consistent view for enabling product engineers to identify and analyze production yield, performance, reliability, and other issues; Process Control that provides failure detection and classification capabilities for monitoring, alarming, and controlling manufacturing tool sets; Test Operations that offer data collection and analysis capabilities; and Assembly Operations that provide device manufacturers with the capability to link assembly and packaging data, including fabrication and characterization data over the product life cycle.