Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $37.77 and last traded at $37.80, with a volume of 621923 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $40.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on KLIC. TD Cowen upped their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kulicke and Soffa Industries has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $44.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.88. The firm has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 315.42 and a beta of 1.36.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total transaction of $564,082.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,897.76. This represents a 35.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Chin Hu Lim sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.11, for a total value of $1,443,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 59,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,872,215.11. This represents a 33.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 121,391 shares of company stock valued at $5,870,582 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KLIC. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted 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 worth $82,220,000 after purchasing an additional 717,832 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the fourth quarter worth $24,109,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $22,134,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 286.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 423,208 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $19,747,000 after acquiring an additional 313,595 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,111,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $50,154,000 after purchasing an additional 187,673 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.