Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Short Interest Up 9.9% in January

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,450,000 shares, an increase of 9.9% from the January 15th total of 3,140,000 shares. Approximately 6.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 555,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.2 days.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ KLIC traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.07. 253,719 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 494,395. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $46.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.90. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 52 week low of $38.20 and a 52 week high of $53.71. The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 342.25 and a beta of 1.36.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 1.26% and a net margin of 0.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In related news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total transaction of $448,261.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,773,870.12. This trade represents a 10.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total transaction of $564,082.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,897.76. This trade represents a 35.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 221,121 shares of company stock valued at $10,527,843 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,278,512 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $152,975,000 after buying an additional 50,430 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,762,112 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $82,220,000 after buying an additional 717,832 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,502,640 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $70,113,000 after buying an additional 33,124 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,165,428 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $54,379,000 after buying an additional 54,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 734,140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $34,255,000 after buying an additional 77,479 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLIC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, DA Davidson cut 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

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.