Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.00.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KLIC. TD Cowen lifted 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. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLIC opened at $41.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 342.25 and a beta of 1.36. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a one year low of $38.20 and a one year high of $53.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $46.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.94.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 0.48% and a negative return on equity of 1.26%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total transaction of $564,082.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,031,897.76. The trade was a 35.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Chin Hu Lim sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.11, for a total value of $1,443,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 59,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,872,215.11. This trade represents a 33.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 221,121 shares of company stock worth $10,527,843. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the third quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

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.