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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $53.00 price objective on the semiconductor company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target points to a potential upside of 22.15% from the stock’s previous close.

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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLIC opened at $43.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.28 and a beta of 1.36. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 52 week low of $38.20 and a 52 week high of $53.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $47.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.20.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total value of $448,261.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,773,870.12. The trade was a 10.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Fusen Ernie Chen sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.29, for a total value of $3,863,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,100,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,155,941.85. The trade was a 6.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 221,121 shares of company stock valued at $10,527,843. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,735 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 36,329 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,695,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3.4% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,384 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 61.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 10,951 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

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.