Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Sets New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $37.77 and last traded at $37.80, with a volume of 621923 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $40.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen raised their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Down 6.1 %

The company has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 315.42 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $44.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.88.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, CEO Fusen Ernie Chen sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $53,155,941.85. The trade was a 6.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total value of $564,082.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 have sold a total of 121,391 shares of company stock valued at $5,870,582 in the last 90 days. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in 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 worth $152,975,000 after buying an additional 50,430 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,762,112 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $82,220,000 after purchasing an additional 717,832 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 worth $70,113,000 after purchasing an additional 33,124 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in 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 worth $54,379,000 after purchasing an additional 54,116 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 77,479 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.