STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) saw a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,230,000 shares, a drop of 35.6% from the February 28th total of 14,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,900,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on STM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of STMicroelectronics from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America lowered shares of STMicroelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen cut STMicroelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $25.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of STMicroelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.26.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in STM. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in STMicroelectronics by 54.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 40,501 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after buying an additional 14,296 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics by 20.1% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 26,921 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $800,000 after acquiring an additional 4,509 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in STMicroelectronics in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in STMicroelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $528,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in STMicroelectronics by 308.8% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 9,463 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 13,996 shares during the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

STMicroelectronics Stock Down 3.1 %

STMicroelectronics stock traded down $0.71 during trading on Friday, reaching $22.17. 6,273,037 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,996,446. STMicroelectronics has a 52-week low of $21.36 and a 52-week high of $45.39. The firm has a market cap of $19.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.56. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $24.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.91.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. STMicroelectronics had a return on equity of 8.92% and a net margin of 11.74%. On average, analysts predict that STMicroelectronics will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current 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.