Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Semtech Co. (NASDAQ:SMTC) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $68.93, but opened at $71.50. Semtech shares last traded at $73.24, with a volume of 272,885 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SMTC. Craig Hallum boosted their price target on shares of Semtech from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Semtech from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Semtech from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Semtech from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Semtech from $56.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.09.

Semtech Trading Up 8.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.74 and a beta of 1.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $61.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.76.

Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.03. Semtech had a negative net margin of 99.08% and a negative return on equity of 154.99%. The company had revenue of $236.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $232.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.02 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark Lin sold 6,114 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.74, for a total transaction of $401,934.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 3,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $232,127.94. The trade was a 63.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Imran Sherazi sold 2,946 shares of Semtech stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.30, for a total value of $186,481.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,317 shares in the company, valued at $399,866.10. The trade was a 31.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,419 shares of company stock valued at $676,955 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Semtech

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SMTC. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its position in Semtech by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 11,285 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its stake in Semtech by 148.6% during the fourth quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 20,568 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,272,000 after buying an additional 12,296 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Semtech by 128.3% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 30,521 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after acquiring an additional 17,150 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Semtech by 100.2% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 35,610 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 17,823 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Semtech by 135.9% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 42,560 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,943,000 after purchasing an additional 24,517 shares during the period.

Semtech Company Profile

Semtech Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets analog and mixed-signal semiconductor and advanced algorithms. It provides signal integrity products, including a portfolio of optical data communications and video transport products used in various infrastructure, and industrial applications; a portfolio of integrated circuits for data centers, enterprise networks, passive optical networks, wireless base station optical transceivers, and high-speed interface applications; and video products for broadcast applications, as well as video-over-IP technology for professional audio video applications.