Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

KLIC has been the subject of several other reports. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on 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. Finally, DA Davidson decreased 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 report on Friday, November 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

KLIC stock opened at $47.54 on Thursday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 1-year low of $38.20 and a 1-year high of $56.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.95 and a two-hundred 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total value of $448,261.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,773,870.12. This trade represents a 10.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total transaction of $1,426,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 177,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,443,469.48. This represents a 14.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 221,121 shares of company stock valued at $10,527,843. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.3% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,735 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3.4% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,384 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 61.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management grew its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 9.4% in the third quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 6,054 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.