Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Semtech Co. (NASDAQ:SMTC)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday after Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $60.00. The stock had previously closed at $60.50, but opened at $58.56. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Semtech shares last traded at $52.29, with a volume of 2,008,877 shares traded.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on SMTC. Northland Securities increased their price target on shares of Semtech from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. B. Riley raised their price target on shares of Semtech from $61.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Semtech from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Semtech from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Semtech from $56.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Insider Activity at Semtech

In related news, COO Asaf Silberstein sold 2,000 shares of Semtech stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $140,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 76,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,349,190. This trade represents a 2.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Lin sold 6,114 shares of Semtech stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.74, for a total value of $401,934.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 3,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,127.94. This represents a 63.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,747 shares of company stock worth $1,095,061. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Semtech

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Semtech by 105.2% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 589 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Semtech by 190.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 770 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in Semtech by 115.8% during the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,377 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Semtech by 4,464.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Semtech by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,768 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares in the last quarter.

Semtech Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.02 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.04 and a 200 day moving average of $50.34.

Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $236.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.89 million. The company’s revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.02 earnings per share.

About Semtech

Semtech Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets analog and mixed-signal semiconductor and advanced algorithms. It provides signal integrity products, including a portfolio of optical data communications and video transport products used in various infrastructure, and industrial applications; a portfolio of integrated circuits for data centers, enterprise networks, passive optical networks, wireless base station optical transceivers, and high-speed interface applications; and video products for broadcast applications, as well as video-over-IP technology for professional audio video applications.