Himax Technologies Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:HIMX)

Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIMX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 6,666 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 137% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,812 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Himax Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Himax Technologies in the second quarter valued at $5,817,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Himax Technologies by 1,104.4% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 580,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,609,000 after purchasing an additional 532,300 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Himax Technologies by 32.4% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,665,858 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,162,000 after buying an additional 407,400 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Himax Technologies by 324.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 296,210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,629,000 after acquiring an additional 226,386 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Himax Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,125,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.81% of the company’s stock.

Himax Technologies Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ HIMX opened at $9.92 on Thursday. Himax Technologies has a 12-month low of $4.80 and a 12-month high of $11.14. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.03. Himax Technologies had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 9.06%. The company had revenue of $222.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $205.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.06 earnings per share. Himax Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Himax Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Himax Technologies from $7.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th.

Himax Technologies Company Profile

Himax Technologies, Inc, a fabless semiconductor company, provides display imaging processing technologies in China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, Europe, and the United States. The company operates in two segments, Driver IC and Non-Driver Products. It offers display driver integrated circuits (ICs) and timing controllers that are used in televisions, PC monitors, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, automotive, ePaper devices, industrial displays, and other products.