Alpha and Omega Semiconductor (NASDAQ:AOSL) Trading 9.8% Higher - Here's Why

Key Points

• Alpha and Omega Semiconductor shares jumped 9.8% to about $41.42, well above the prior close of $37.72, on lighter-than-normal volume.
• Recent analyst action has been mixed, but the overall tone is still cautious: the stock now has a consensus Hold rating and a consensus price target of $30.50, despite Needham initiating coverage with a Buy and $50 target.
• The company beat fiscal Q4 expectations, posting EPS of ($0.28) versus the expected ($0.34) and revenue of $163.79 million versus $160.07 million, even though sales were slightly down year over year.

Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited (NASDAQ:AOSL - Get Free Report) shares traded up 9.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $41.39 and last traded at $41.4150. 289,919 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 568,014 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Alpha and Omega Semiconductor from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on Alpha and Omega Semiconductor in a research note on Friday, May 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Alpha and Omega Semiconductor in a report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alpha and Omega Semiconductor from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Alpha and Omega Semiconductor from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.50.

Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $28.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.21. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.13 and a beta of 2.58.

Alpha and Omega Semiconductor (NASDAQ:AOSL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.28) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.34) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $163.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.07 million. Alpha and Omega Semiconductor had a negative net margin of 15.51% and a negative return on equity of 4.30%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.10) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited will post -1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mike F. Chang acquired 33,727 shares of Alpha and Omega Semiconductor stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.00 per share, with a total value of $640,813.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 4,369,574 shares in the company, valued at $83,021,906. This represents a 0.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bing Xue sold 1,832 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.21, for a total value of $57,176.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 132,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,138,976.57. This represents a 1.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 59,860 shares of company stock worth $1,913,960 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 16.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alpha and Omega Semiconductor by 1.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 120,075 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,661,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alpha and Omega Semiconductor during the 1st quarter worth approximately $877,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Alpha and Omega Semiconductor during the 1st quarter worth approximately $784,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Alpha and Omega Semiconductor during the 1st quarter worth approximately $244,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Alpha and Omega Semiconductor by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 381,767 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $7,563,000 after buying an additional 63,134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.97% of the company's stock.

Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Company Profile

Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited NASDAQ: AOSL is a designer and supplier of power semiconductor components used in power management applications across a range of electronic systems. The company offers a broad portfolio of discrete and integrated power devices, including power MOSFETs, rectifiers, voltage regulators, and power management ICs. These products are optimized for high efficiency, compact form factors and thermal performance, catering to the growing demands of energy-sensitive applications in computing, consumer electronics, communications and industrial markets.

Since its founding in 2000, Alpha and Omega Semiconductor has leveraged in-house design expertise and strategic partnerships with manufacturing facilities to deliver scalable, high-volume production.

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