Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ:CRUS) Cut to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Cirrus Logic was downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment.
• Barclays raised its price target on Cirrus Logic from $80 to $90, while Stifel Nicolaus set a target of $120, with a consensus target price of $128.33 among analysts.
• The company initiated a $500 million share repurchase plan to buy back up to 9.6% of its stock, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ:CRUS - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $120.00 price target on Cirrus Logic in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on Cirrus Logic from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cirrus Logic presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $128.33.

Cirrus Logic Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of CRUS stock traded up $0.87 during trading on Friday, hitting $101.17. The company had a trading volume of 457,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 442,522. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83 and a beta of 0.95. The stock's 50-day moving average is $103.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.78. Cirrus Logic has a 52 week low of $75.83 and a 52 week high of $147.46.

Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ:CRUS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.52. Cirrus Logic had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 17.48%. The firm had revenue of $424.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $380.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Cirrus Logic will post 5.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cirrus Logic announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cirrus Logic

In related news, EVP Jeffrey W. Baumgartner sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,400,100. This trade represents a 41.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Alexander M. Davern sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.62, for a total value of $105,620.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,208,197.34. This trade represents a 4.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,000 shares of company stock worth $1,305,620. 1.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cirrus Logic

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRUS. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Cirrus Logic in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cirrus Logic in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cirrus Logic in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Cirrus Logic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Cirrus Logic by 95.1% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 476 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cirrus Logic Company Profile

Cirrus Logic, Inc, a fabless semiconductor company, develops low-power high-precision mixed-signal processing solutions in China, the United States, and internationally. The company offers audio products, including amplifiers; codecs components that integrate analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and digital-to-analog converters (DACs) into a single integrated circuit (IC); smart codecs, a codec with integrated digital signal processing; standalone digital signal processors; and SoundClear technology, which consists of a portfolio of tools, software, and algorithms that helps to enhance user experience with features, such as louder, high-fidelity sound, audio playback, voice capture, and hearing augmentation for use in smartphones, tablets, laptops, AR/VR headsets, home theater systems, automotive entertainment systems, and professional audio systems.