STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) Short Interest Update

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,230,000 shares, a decrease of 35.6% from the February 28th total of 14,330,000 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 6,900,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on STM shares. TD Cowen downgraded STMicroelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America lowered STMicroelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of STMicroelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of STMicroelectronics from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.26.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STMicroelectronics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STM. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of STMicroelectronics by 54.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 40,501 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $1,204,000 after buying an additional 14,296 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in STMicroelectronics by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 26,921 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $800,000 after purchasing an additional 4,509 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at $528,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics by 308.8% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 9,463 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 13,996 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

STMicroelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:STM traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $22.17. The stock had a trading volume of 6,273,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,996,446. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a current ratio of 3.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.56. STMicroelectronics has a 1-year low of $21.36 and a 1-year high of $45.39.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.02. STMicroelectronics had a return on equity of 8.92% and a net margin of 11.74%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that STMicroelectronics will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About STMicroelectronics

STMicroelectronics N.V., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells semiconductor products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through Automotive and Discrete Group; Analog, MEMS and Sensors Group; and Microcontrollers and Digital ICs Group segments.