Short Interest in Camtek Ltd. (NASDAQ:CAMT) Increases By 9.4%

Camtek Ltd. (NASDAQ:CAMT) saw a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,390,000 shares, a growth of 9.4% from the October 31st total of 3,100,000 shares. Currently, 12.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 573,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.9 days.

Camtek Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CAMT traded down $0.32 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $75.64. The company had a trading volume of 93,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 534,556. Camtek has a 52 week low of $60.60 and a 52 week high of $140.50. The business’s 50-day moving average is $78.69 and its 200 day moving average is $94.33. The company has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.00, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a current ratio of 5.28.

Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.06. Camtek had a return on equity of 24.21% and a net margin of 26.53%. The business had revenue of $112.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $108.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Camtek’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Camtek will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Camtek

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Camtek by 78.8% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 329 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Camtek during the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Camtek by 23,300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Camtek in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, Susquehanna International Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Camtek in the second quarter worth approximately $237,000. 41.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Camtek from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Camtek in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Northland Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Camtek from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Camtek currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.57.

Camtek Company Profile

Camtek Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells inspection and metrology equipment for semiconductor industry. The company provides Eagle-i, a system that delivers 2D inspection and metrology capabilities; Eagle-AP, which addresses the advanced packaging market using software and hardware technologies that deliver superior 2D and 3D inspection and metrology capabilities on the same platform; and Golden Eagle, a panel inspection and metrology system to address the challenges fanout wafer level packaging applications.