Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Stock Rating Upgraded by 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 research report issued on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on KLIC. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kulicke and Soffa Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Down 2.4 %

KLIC opened at $41.55 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.78 and a beta of 1.36. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 12-month low of $38.20 and a 12-month high of $53.71. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.17.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its 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 negative return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 9.77%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Transactions at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, CEO Fusen Ernie Chen sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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 owns 1,100,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,155,941.85. This trade represents a 6.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lester A. Wong sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.37, for a total value of $2,782,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 79,636 shares in the company, valued at $3,692,721.32. The trade was a 42.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 221,121 shares of company stock valued at $10,527,843 in the last quarter. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.0% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,469,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $66,319,000 after buying an additional 264,638 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,111,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $50,154,000 after acquiring an additional 187,673 shares during the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,062,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 105.6% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 146,079 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,593,000 after purchasing an additional 75,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 530,827 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $24,768,000 after purchasing an additional 74,920 shares during the period. 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.