Ameriprise Financial Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Semtech Corporation $SMTC

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Semtech Corporation by 15.8%, acquiring an additional 877,422 shares, bringing its total ownership to 6,445,641 shares valued at approximately $221.7 million.
• Semtech reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.31, surpassing analyst expectations, with revenues of $251.10 million, indicating a year-over-year revenue growth of 21.8%.
• Recent price targets from analysts for Semtech vary, with Benchmark setting a target of $68.00, while UBS Group has adjusted its target down to $55.00, reflecting mixed market sentiment.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ:SMTC - Free Report) by 15.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,445,641 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 877,422 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 7.44% of Semtech worth $221,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in Semtech in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. NBC Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Semtech by 104,700.0% in the first 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. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Semtech by 58.5% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,498 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new position in shares of Semtech in the first quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Semtech by 328.1% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,507 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter.

Semtech Price Performance

Semtech stock traded up $2.63 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $60.76. 894,028 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,422,682. The stock's fifty day moving average is $49.16 and its 200-day moving average is $40.04. Semtech Corporation has a 12 month low of $24.05 and a 12 month high of $79.52. The stock has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 252.35 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The semiconductor company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.10. Semtech had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 2.38%.The company had revenue of $251.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $249.79 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.06 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Semtech Corporation will post -0.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Semtech

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMTC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Northland Securities boosted their price target on Semtech from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley set a $43.00 price target on Semtech in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Semtech from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Semtech from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Semtech in a research report on Tuesday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.42.

Semtech 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.