Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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 research report on Friday, November 15th.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total transaction of $564,082.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,031,897.76. This represents a 35.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Fusen Ernie Chen sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.29, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 121,391 shares of company stock worth $5,870,582 in the last quarter. 3.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 61.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 397.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 0.5 %

Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $36.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of 304.42 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.77. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 12 month low of $35.55 and a 12 month high of $53.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a net margin of 0.48% and a negative return on equity of 1.26%. As a group, analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.