Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on KLIC. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of 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, Needham & Company LLC raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Shares of KLIC opened at $47.33 on Friday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 1-year low of $38.20 and a 1-year high of $56.71. The stock has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.48 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.69.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The business’s revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, Director Chin Hu Lim sold 30,000 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.11, for a total transaction of $1,443,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 59,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,872,215.11. The trade was a 33.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fusen Ernie Chen sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.29, for a total transaction of $3,863,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,100,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,155,941.85. The trade was a 6.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 221,121 shares of company stock worth $10,527,843 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 61.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 101.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

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.