Ceva (NASDAQ:CEVA) Shares Down 9.7% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares fell 9.7% — Ceva traded down to about $24.50 Tuesday (intraday low $24.96) on volume of 184,112 shares, roughly 53% below its average session volume and off a $27.14 close.
• Analyst consensus is a “Moderate Buy” with a $30.29 average target (seven Buys, one Sell); several firms recently initiated coverage with Buy ratings while Weiss Ratings maintained a Sell (D‑) view.
• Recent results were mixed: quarterly EPS of $0.18 matched estimates and revenue rose 7.1% to $31.29M, but the company posts a negative net margin (-9.71%) and ROE, and analysts expect -$0.25 EPS for the current year.

Ceva, Inc. (NASDAQ:CEVA - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 9.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $24.96 and last traded at $24.4960. 184,112 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 390,760 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.14.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Ceva in a report on Friday, March 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Ceva in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Ceva in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ceva in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Ceva in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.29.

Ceva Stock Down 8.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $691.60 million, a P/E ratio of -57.95 and a beta of 1.53. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $20.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.42.

Ceva (NASDAQ:CEVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The semiconductor company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.18. Ceva had a negative net margin of 9.71% and a negative return on equity of 3.15%. The firm had revenue of $31.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ceva, Inc. will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ceva

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Ceva by 77.6% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,446 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Ceva during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ceva by 771.8% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,380 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Ceva by 422.2% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,731 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 2,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Ceva by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,758 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. 85.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ceva Company Profile

Ceva, Inc NASDAQ: CEVA is a leading licensor of signal processing IP cores and platforms that enable intelligent, connected devices. The company designs a broad portfolio of digital signal processing (DSP) and AI processors, software development toolkits and reference frameworks for applications ranging from 5G wireless communications and Bluetooth connectivity to audio, computer vision, sensor fusion and edge AI. Its solutions target a variety of end markets including smartphones, automotive, IoT devices, smart home, industrial automation and wearable electronics.

Founded in 1999 as a spin-off from DSP Group, Ceva has built its reputation on delivering modular, power-efficient IP that can be customized to meet stringent performance, area and power requirements.

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.