Silicon Motion Technology (NASDAQ:SIMO) Upgraded by Bank of America to “Neutral” Rating

Bank of America upgraded shares of Silicon Motion Technology (NASDAQ:SIMO) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $47.00 price objective on the semiconductor producer’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on SIMO. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Silicon Motion Technology in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut Silicon Motion Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.00.

Silicon Motion Technology Stock Up 6.0 %

Shares of SIMO stock opened at $41.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $49.78 and a 200-day moving average of $53.15. The company has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.81. Silicon Motion Technology has a 52 week low of $37.21 and a 52 week high of $85.87.

Silicon Motion Technology (NASDAQ:SIMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.10). Silicon Motion Technology had a return on equity of 11.63% and a net margin of 11.29%. Analysts anticipate that Silicon Motion Technology will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Silicon Motion Technology announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor producer to reacquire up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Silicon Motion Technology

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Silicon Motion Technology by 20.1% in the first quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,364,291 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $68,979,000 after purchasing an additional 228,553 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in Silicon Motion Technology by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,324,930 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $71,612,000 after buying an additional 221,017 shares during the last quarter. Pertento Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of Silicon Motion Technology by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Pertento Partners LLP now owns 1,166,914 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $63,072,000 after buying an additional 277,462 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Silicon Motion Technology by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,038,779 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $56,146,000 after buying an additional 192,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Silicon Motion Technology by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 797,192 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $43,088,000 after acquiring an additional 228,333 shares during the period. 78.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Silicon Motion Technology Company Profile

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and markets NAND flash controllers for solid-state storage devices. The company offers controllers for computing-grade solid state drives (SSDs), which are used in PCs and other client devices; enterprise-grade SSDs used in data centers; eMMC and UFS mobile embedded storage for use in smartphones and IoT devices; flash memory cards and flash drives for use in expandable storage; and specialized SSDs that are used in industrial, commercial, and automotive applications.