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

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

Several other research firms have also recently commented on KLIC. 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. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

KLIC stock opened at $44.33 on Wednesday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 12 month low of $38.20 and a 12 month high of $53.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of -36.04 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

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

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KLIC. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 2nd quarter worth $905,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 418.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 69,211 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,404,000 after buying an additional 55,862 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the second quarter worth $457,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $279,000. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3.4% in 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.