Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Key Points

• Camtek shares gapped up ahead of Tuesday’s trading, opening at $156.36 after closing at $147.09 the prior session and last trading around $155.27.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $174.67. Recent notes included targets as high as $200 from Evercore and Jefferies.
• Camtek’s latest earnings slightly beat expectations, posting $0.70 EPS on revenue of $121.66 million, while institutional ownership remains significant at 41.93%.

Camtek Ltd. (NASDAQ:CAMT - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $147.09, but opened at $156.36. Camtek shares last traded at $155.2740, with a volume of 60,811 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on CAMT. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Camtek in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Northland Securities set a $174.00 price objective on Camtek in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings raised Camtek from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Camtek from $163.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Camtek from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.67.

Camtek Price Performance

The company's fifty day moving average is $164.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $161.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 7.46 and a current ratio of 8.35. The firm has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 181.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.55.

Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.01. Camtek had a return on equity of 22.26% and a net margin of 9.63%.The firm had revenue of $121.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Camtek Ltd. will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Camtek

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its position in shares of Camtek by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 120,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $13,032,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Camtek by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,086,242 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $116,615,000 after acquiring an additional 7,220 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Camtek by 42.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 51,694 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $5,430,000 after purchasing an additional 15,490 shares during the last quarter. Ariose Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in Camtek in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,903,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its stake in Camtek by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,318,396 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $140,205,000 after purchasing an additional 140,796 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.93% of the company's stock.

About Camtek

Camtek Ltd. NASDAQ: CAMT is a provider of automated inspection and metrology solutions for the semiconductor and printed circuit board (PCB) industries. The company develops, manufactures and markets a suite of inline and stand-alone systems that perform high‐resolution 2D and 3D measurements, defect review and process control. Its products are used by integrated device manufacturers, foundries, OSAT (outsourced semiconductor assembly and test) providers, and PCB fabricators to optimize yield, improve product quality and reduce production costs.

Camtek's core offerings include wafer inspection systems that detect and classify defects on patterned wafers, patterned wafer metrology tools for overlay and critical dimension measurements, and advanced packaging inspection platforms for 3D ICs and fan-out wafer-level packaging.

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