Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 40,495 Shares of Tower Semiconductor Ltd. $TSEM

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Tower Semiconductor stake by 34.2% in the third quarter, adding 40,495 shares and bringing its holdings to 158,901 shares worth approximately $37.1 million.
• Institutional investors own 70.51% of Tower Semiconductor, while company insiders have sold 181,767 shares worth $45.6 million over the past three months.
• Tower Semiconductor beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.88 in EPS and $460.1 million in revenue, with revenue up 23.7% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with a $316 average price target.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM - Free Report) by 34.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 158,901 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 40,495 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.14% of Tower Semiconductor worth $37,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Tower Semiconductor by 0.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,081,175 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $189,723,000 after acquiring an additional 6,458 shares in the last quarter. E20 Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Tower Semiconductor during the 1st quarter valued at $107,708,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Tower Semiconductor in the 1st quarter worth $85,435,000. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Tower Semiconductor by 86.0% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 414,850 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $70,625,000 after purchasing an additional 191,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its stake in shares of Tower Semiconductor by 1,175.6% in the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 340,108 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $58,025,000 after purchasing an additional 313,445 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.51% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Russell Ellwanger sold 104,226 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.34, for a total value of $25,883,484.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 526,788 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $130,822,531.92. This trade represents a 16.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Yoav Chelouche sold 232 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.06, for a total value of $49,893.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,254,834.04. This represents a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 181,767 shares of company stock valued at $45,610,065. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Tower Semiconductor Stock Performance

TSEM opened at $195.58 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average is $225.31 and its 200 day moving average is $232.22. The company has a current ratio of 4.91, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $21.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.30 and a beta of 0.89. Tower Semiconductor Ltd. has a 12-month low of $71.64 and a 12-month high of $319.94.

Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TSEM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.12. Tower Semiconductor had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 9.83%. The business had revenue of $460.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $454.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Tower Semiconductor Ltd. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Tower Semiconductor from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a research report on Friday, August 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $367.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. National Bank Financial raised Tower Semiconductor to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Tower Semiconductor in a research note on Friday, September 25th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $316.00.

Tower Semiconductor Profile

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. is an Israel-based specialty semiconductor foundry that manufactures integrated circuits for fabless semiconductor companies, integrated device manufacturers and other technology companies. Rather than selling products under a broad consumer brand, Tower provides wafer fabrication, process technology and manufacturing services tailored to customers' chip designs.

The company specializes in analog and mixed-signal semiconductors, radio-frequency components, power-management devices, CMOS image sensors and other specialty technologies.

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