Benchmark Reaffirms "Buy" Rating for Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC)

Key Points

• Benchmark has reiterated a "buy" rating for Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) and set a price target of $68.00, suggesting a potential upside of 33.33% from its previous close.
• A total of eleven analysts have rated Semtech's stock as a "buy," indicating strong analyst confidence, while the consensus price target sits at approximately $60.08.
• Semtech recently reported an EPS of $0.31, exceeding expectations, with revenue increasing by 21.8% year-over-year for the quarter.

Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by analysts at Benchmark in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $68.00 target price on the semiconductor company's stock. Benchmark's target price would suggest a potential upside of 12.29% from the company's previous close.

SMTC has been the subject of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Semtech from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Semtech in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Semtech from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $54.00 target price on shares of Semtech in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Semtech has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.42.

Semtech Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SMTC traded up $2.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $60.56. 2,815,541 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,055,076. The stock has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 252.33 and a beta of 1.94. Semtech has a 1 year low of $24.05 and a 1 year high of $79.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The semiconductor company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.10. Semtech had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 2.38%.The company had revenue of $251.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $249.79 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.06 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Semtech will post -0.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Semtech

In related news, CFO Mark Lin sold 999 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.84, for a total value of $43,796.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 17,211 shares in the company, valued at $754,530.24. This trade represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Asaf Silberstein sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.98, for a total transaction of $85,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 105,996 shares in the company, valued at $4,555,708.08. The trade was a 1.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Semtech

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Semtech by 78.4% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 653 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new position in Semtech in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Semtech during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Semtech by 104,700.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Semtech by 33.4% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,027 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter.

Semtech Company Profile

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.