Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIMX) Short Interest Down 12.2% in December

Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIMX) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,760,000 shares, a drop of 12.2% from the December 15th total of 6,560,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,520,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Himax Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Himax Technologies by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,665,858 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,162,000 after purchasing an additional 407,400 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Himax Technologies by 49.6% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 868,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,777,000 after buying an additional 288,000 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Himax Technologies during the second quarter worth about $5,817,000. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Himax Technologies by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 470,526 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,588,000 after acquiring an additional 21,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Himax Technologies by 324.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 296,210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,629,000 after acquiring an additional 226,386 shares in the last quarter. 69.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Himax Technologies Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Himax Technologies stock traded up $0.08 on Friday, reaching $8.85. 2,204,677 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,914,119. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11 and a beta of 1.94. Himax Technologies has a 52 week low of $4.80 and a 52 week high of $9.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $6.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.03. Himax Technologies had a return on equity of 9.06% and a net margin of 8.77%. The firm had revenue of $222.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $205.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Himax Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Himax Technologies from $7.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th.

About Himax Technologies

Himax Technologies, Inc, a fabless semiconductor company, provides display imaging processing technologies in China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, Europe, and the United States. The company operates in two segments, Driver IC and Non-Driver Products. It offers display driver integrated circuits (ICs) and timing controllers that are used in televisions, PC monitors, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, automotive, ePaper devices, industrial displays, and other products.