Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Camtek from "sell" to "hold"; the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts with an average price target of $165.92.
• Several firms raised their views recently—Barclays lifted its target to $175 (overweight), Jefferies reiterated a "buy" with a $185 target, and Bank of America set a $160 target and a "buy" rating—reflecting growing analyst optimism.
• In the latest quarter Camtek reported EPS $0.81 (missed by $0.02) and revenue of $128.12M (+9.2% YoY), while the stock trades at a high valuation (market cap $7.57B, P/E 176.54) and near its 12‑month high of $176.00.

Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Camtek from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Camtek in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Camtek in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Camtek from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Camtek from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $165.92.

Camtek Price Performance

Shares of CAMT opened at $165.95 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $153.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 176.54, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 1.53. Camtek has a twelve month low of $47.41 and a twelve month high of $176.00. The company has a current ratio of 8.35, a quick ratio of 7.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The semiconductor company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $128.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.10 million. Camtek had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 23.61%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Camtek will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Camtek by 202.0% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 299 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Camtek in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Camtek during the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Camtek during the 3rd quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Camtek during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. 41.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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.