Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC)

United Microelectronics Co. (NYSE:UMC) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 14,140 call options on the company. This is an increase of 600% compared to the average daily volume of 2,019 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Microelectronics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UMC. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in United Microelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $333,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in United Microelectronics by 90.5% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 237,027 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,996,000 after acquiring an additional 112,624 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 192.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 300,738 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,532,000 after buying an additional 197,998 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in United Microelectronics by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,186,187 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,988,000 after purchasing an additional 168,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Microelectronics in the third quarter worth approximately $146,000. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Citigroup raised United Microelectronics from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.40.

United Microelectronics Price Performance

NYSE:UMC traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $7.30. 35,424,485 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,889,917. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $6.35 and its 200-day moving average is $6.93. United Microelectronics has a 1-year low of $5.61 and a 1-year high of $9.00. The stock has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The semiconductor company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.03). United Microelectronics had a net margin of 20.35% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.30 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that United Microelectronics will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Microelectronics Company Profile

United Microelectronics Corporation operates as a semiconductor wafer foundry in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides circuit design, mask tooling, wafer fabrication, and assembly and testing services. It serves fabless design companies and integrated device manufacturers.