Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $53.00 price objective on the semiconductor company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target points to a potential upside of 27.56% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLIC opened at $41.55 on Thursday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 1 year low of $38.20 and a 1 year high of $53.71. The firm has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of -33.78 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.17.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In related news, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total value of $1,426,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 177,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,443,469.48. This trade represents a 14.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total transaction of $564,082.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,031,897.76. This trade represents a 35.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 221,121 shares of company stock worth $10,527,843 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 61.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 397.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.