United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $21.08, but opened at $23.66. United Microelectronics shares last traded at $22.4590, with a volume of 8,070,757 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of United Microelectronics from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $8.60 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business’s 50 day moving average is $12.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.10. The company has a market cap of $55.98 billion, a PE ratio of 34.25, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.41.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.08. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 13.67%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC purchased a new stake in United Microelectronics in the 1st quarter worth $174,000. Amundi purchased a new stake in United Microelectronics in the 1st quarter worth $449,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in United Microelectronics by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 26,119 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 8,139 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in United Microelectronics by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 36,669 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 7,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in United Microelectronics by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 710,604 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,381,000 after purchasing an additional 108,050 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

About United Microelectronics

United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) is a Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry that provides wafer fabrication and related manufacturing services to a global customer base. Founded in 1980, the company operates as a pure-play foundry, producing integrated circuits for a range of customers including fabless semiconductor companies and integrated device manufacturers. UMC is publicly listed (NYSE: UMC) and focuses on high-reliability manufacturing rather than branding consumer products.

UMC’s core services encompass wafer fabrication using a portfolio of process technologies, with particular emphasis on mature and specialty nodes that support analog, power-management, radio-frequency (RF), and mixed-signal applications.