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

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

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report 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 upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of KLIC opened at $46.21 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $48.01 and a 200 day moving average of $45.76. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of -37.57 and a beta of 1.37. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 52-week low of $38.20 and a 52-week high of $56.71.

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

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total transaction of $564,082.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,838 shares in the company, valued at $1,031,897.76. This represents a 35.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were 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 $3,773,870.12. This trade represents a 10.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 221,121 shares of company stock worth $10,527,843. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 36,329 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,695,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 85.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 96,604 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,361,000 after buying an additional 44,429 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the third quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 27.8% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 88,712 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,977,000 after acquiring an additional 19,279 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

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.