BE Semiconductor Industries (OTCMKTS:BESIY) Sets New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Shares of BE Semiconductor Industries hit a new 52-week high of $257.87 on Tuesday, trading up about 4.3% and sitting well above both the 50-day ($214.45) and 200-day ($183.94) moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed — five analysts rate BESIY a Buy and six a Hold, leaving an average rating of "Hold", although several firms (Morgan Stanley, Needham, Bernstein) have recently issued positive notes.
• The company has a market cap of $18.66 billion and a high P/E of 137.62, while showing strong liquidity (current ratio 5.55, quick ratio 4.88) and a debt-to-equity of 1.22, indicating an expensive valuation but a solid short-term balance sheet.

BE Semiconductor Industries NV (OTCMKTS:BESIY - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $257.8728 and last traded at $257.44, with a volume of 979 shares. The stock had previously closed at $246.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BESIY has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of BE Semiconductor Industries in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of BE Semiconductor Industries in a research note on Sunday, January 4th. Needham & Company LLC raised BE Semiconductor Industries to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Berenberg Bank upgraded BE Semiconductor Industries to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets downgraded BE Semiconductor Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BE Semiconductor Industries currently has an average rating of "Hold".

BE Semiconductor Industries Stock Up 4.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $18.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 137.62 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a current ratio of 5.55, a quick ratio of 4.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $214.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.94.

About BE Semiconductor Industries

BE Semiconductor Industries NV OTCMKTS: BESIY, commonly known as BESI, is a global supplier of assembly equipment for the semiconductor industry. The company designs, develops and manufactures capital equipment used in the back-end production of semiconductor devices, including die attach, wire bonding and flip chip packaging systems. BESI's platforms support a wide range of applications from memory and logic chips to advanced power devices and radio-frequency modules, enabling high precision, throughput and yield in device assembly and test processes.

Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Duiven, the Netherlands, BESI went public on Euronext Amsterdam in 1999.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.