Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Sells 10,333 Shares of Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM)

Key Points

• Essex Investment Management Co. LLC reduced its holdings in Tower Semiconductor by 5.6%, selling 10,333 shares and maintaining a total of 173,059 shares, which represents 1.3% of their investment portfolio.
• Tower Semiconductor reported a earnings per share of $0.35 for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations, with revenue increasing by 9.4% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors own over 70% of Tower Semiconductor, with significant purchases from firms like Raymond James Financial and American Century Companies during the fourth quarter.

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lowered its position in Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM - Free Report) by 5.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,059 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 10,333 shares during the quarter. Tower Semiconductor accounts for about 1.3% of Essex Investment Management Co. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC owned 0.16% of Tower Semiconductor worth $6,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Tower Semiconductor in the 1st quarter worth approximately $551,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Tower Semiconductor by 8.4% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,715 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Tower Semiconductor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Tower Semiconductor by 18.0% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,885 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in Tower Semiconductor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Institutional investors own 70.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.00.

Tower Semiconductor Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of TSEM traded down $1.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.41. The stock had a trading volume of 644,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 702,652. The company has a quick ratio of 5.82, a current ratio of 6.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Tower Semiconductor Ltd. has a 52 week low of $28.64 and a 52 week high of $55.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $43.47 and a 200 day moving average of $41.94. The company has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.54 and a beta of 0.79.

Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TSEM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The semiconductor company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.01). Tower Semiconductor had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 7.73%. The firm had revenue of $358.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $358.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. Tower Semiconductor's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Tower Semiconductor Ltd. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tower Semiconductor Profile

Tower Semiconductor Ltd., an independent semiconductor foundry, focus on specialty process technologies to manufacture analog intensive mixed-signal semiconductor devices in Israel, the United States, Japan, Europe, and internationally. It provides various customizable process technologies, including SiGe, BiCMOS, mixed signal/CMOS, RF CMOS, CMOS image sensor, integrated power management, and MEMS.