BlackRock Inc. Invests $392.91 Million in PDF Solutions, Inc. $PDFS

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 5.55 million PDF Solutions shares valued at approximately $392.91 million, giving it a 13.9% ownership stake.
• Institutional investors collectively own 79.51% of PDF Solutions, with Wasatch Advisors increasing its position by 171.9% during the second quarter.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $63.00, while the stock recently traded at $44.28; the company’s latest quarterly results met earnings expectations and exceeded revenue estimates.

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PDF Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDFS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,550,335 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $392,908,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 13.90% of PDF Solutions as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in PDF Solutions by 171.9% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,380,739 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $97,743,000 after purchasing an additional 873,002 shares in the last quarter. Ophir Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in PDF Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $20,631,000. Pillsbury Lake Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PDF Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,729,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of PDF Solutions during the second quarter valued at about $14,747,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PDF Solutions by 378.6% in the 3rd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 254,511 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $6,571,000 after buying an additional 201,337 shares in the last quarter. 79.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PDFS. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of PDF Solutions in a research report on Friday, August 7th. DA Davidson set a $74.00 target price on shares of PDF Solutions in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of PDF Solutions from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PDF Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on PDF Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.00.

PDF Solutions Trading Up 0.5%

PDF Solutions stock opened at $44.28 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.45, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. PDF Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.93 and a 52 week high of $71.68. The company has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 177.12 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $53.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.30.

PDF Solutions (NASDAQ:PDFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.27. PDF Solutions had a net margin of 4.27% and a return on equity of 7.21%. The company had revenue of $61.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.17 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PDF Solutions, Inc. will post 0.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PDF Solutions

In related news, Director Shuo Zhang sold 1,501 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total transaction of $77,256.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,203,368.60. This trade represents a 6.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About PDF Solutions

PDF Solutions, Inc, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is a technology company that provides data-driven solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Founded in 1991, the company specializes in software and services designed to improve yield, productivity and profitability for semiconductor fabricators. Over its history, PDF Solutions has positioned itself as a partner to foundries, integrated device manufacturers (IDMs), assembly and test operations, offering tailored data analytics and engineering expertise.

The company's flagship offering, the Exensio platform, aggregates and analyzes data from process equipment, metrology and inspection systems to identify yield-limiting defects and process excursions.

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