Ultra Clean (NASDAQ:UCTT) Shares Up 3.7% – Should You Buy?

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCTT) shares traded up 3.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $38.15 and last traded at $37.99. 15,047 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 95% from the average session volume of 274,817 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Ultra Clean from $60.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Ultra Clean from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Ultra Clean in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock.

Ultra Clean Stock Up 1.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 483.06 and a beta of 2.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $37.09 and its 200-day moving average is $38.85.

Ultra Clean (NASDAQ:UCTT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $540.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $515.88 million. Ultra Clean had a return on equity of 4.08% and a net margin of 0.18%. The business’s revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.03) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jeffrey L. Mckibben sold 3,422 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.20, for a total transaction of $130,720.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,805 shares in the company, valued at $718,351. This represents a 15.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Harjinder Bajwa acquired 15,000 shares of Ultra Clean stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $34.83 per share, with a total value of $522,450.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 44,291 shares in the company, valued at $1,542,655.53. The trade was a 51.21 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 27,500 shares of company stock valued at $943,275 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ultra Clean

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UCTT. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Ultra Clean by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 20,220 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $727,000 after buying an additional 2,343 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ultra Clean by 107.0% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ultra Clean by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 376,041 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,519,000 after purchasing an additional 8,829 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Ultra Clean by 27.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 506,107 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $20,209,000 after buying an additional 110,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ultra Clean in the third quarter valued at about $309,000. 96.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ultra Clean

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc develops and supplies critical subsystems, components and parts, and ultra-high purity cleaning and analytical services for the semiconductor industry in the United States and internationally. The company provides ultra-clean valves, high purity connectors, industrial process connectors and valves, pneumatic actuators, manifolds and safety solutions, hoses, pressure gauges, and gas line and component heaters; chemical delivery modules that deliver gases and reactive chemicals in a liquid or gaseous form from a centralized subsystem to the reaction chamber; and gas delivery systems, such as weldments, filters, mass flow controllers, regulators, pressure transducers and valves, component heaters, and an integrated electronic and/or pneumatic control system.