Legato Capital Management LLC Acquires New Stake in PDF Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDFS)

Key Points

• Legato Capital Management LLC invested $361,000 in PDF Solutions, acquiring 18,877 shares during the first quarter, highlighting growing investor interest in the company.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Needham Investment Management and Dimensional Fund Advisors, increased their holdings in PDF Solutions, collectively owning over 79.51% of the company's stock.
• Analysts have recently varied in their ratings for PDF Solutions, with DA Davidson upgrading it to a "strong-buy" and Rosenblatt Securities lowering its target price.

Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in PDF Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDFS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 18,877 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $361,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PDFS. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of PDF Solutions by 124.1% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,421 shares of the technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of PDF Solutions by 100.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PDF Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $136,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of PDF Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $160,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of PDF Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $232,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on PDFS. Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on PDF Solutions from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. DA Davidson upgraded PDF Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut PDF Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday.

PDF Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ PDFS traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $23.79. 122,589 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 291,559. The company has a market capitalization of $931.14 million, a P/E ratio of 793.26 and a beta of 1.46. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. PDF Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.91 and a 12-month high of $36.25.

Insider Activity at PDF Solutions

In related news, Director Michael B. Gustafson bought 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.45 per share, for a total transaction of $145,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 30,074 shares in the company, valued at $584,939.30. This trade represents a 33.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.09% of the company's stock.

PDF Solutions Company Profile

PDF Solutions, Inc provides proprietary software and physical intellectual property products for integrated circuit designs, electrical measurement hardware tools, proven methodologies, and professional services in the United States, China, Japan, and internationally. The company offers Exensio software products, such as Manufacturing Analytics that store collected data in a common environment with a consistent view for enabling product engineers to identify and analyze production yield, performance, reliability, and other issues; Process Control that provides failure detection and classification capabilities for monitoring, alarming, and controlling manufacturing tool sets; Test Operations that offer data collection and analysis capabilities; and Assembly Operations that provide device manufacturers with the capability to link assembly and packaging data, including fabrication and characterization data over the product life cycle.