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

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $52.00.

A number of equities analysts have commented on KLIC shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen upped 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.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total value of $564,082.32. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total transaction of $448,261.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,773,870.12. The trade was a 10.62 % 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 worth $10,527,843 over the last 90 days. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 717,832 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.0% in the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,469,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $66,319,000 after purchasing an additional 264,638 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,111,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $50,154,000 after acquiring an additional 187,673 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 354.3% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 212,119 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,897,000 after purchasing an additional 165,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,875,000. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of KLIC opened at $41.07 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $46.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.94. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 342.25 and a beta of 1.36. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a fifty-two week low of $38.20 and a fifty-two week high of $53.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.