Nuveen Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCTT)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCTT - Free Report) by 41.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 714,504 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 208,910 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 1.59% of Ultra Clean worth $25,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UCTT. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ultra Clean in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ultra Clean by 107.0% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 948 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ultra Clean by 694.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 977 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Ultra Clean by 58.1% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,913 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Ultra Clean by 139.2% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,382 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386 shares during the period. 96.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UCTT. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Ultra Clean from $48.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Ultra Clean from $60.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Ultra Clean from $40.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ultra Clean from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jamie J. Palfrey sold 9,500 shares of Ultra Clean stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.20, for a total value of $182,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,928. The trade was a 23.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bill Bentinck acquired 3,000 shares of Ultra Clean stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.17 per share, for a total transaction of $75,510.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 60,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,693.15. This represents a 5.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ultra Clean Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UCTT traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $19.93. The company had a trading volume of 277,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,768. Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.66 and a twelve month high of $56.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market cap of $899.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 249.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 2.09. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $20.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.05.

Ultra Clean (NASDAQ:UCTT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.03). Ultra Clean had a net margin of 0.18% and a return on equity of 4.08%. The company had revenue of $518.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $526.13 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. Ultra Clean's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

About Ultra Clean

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc develops and supplies critical subsystems, components and parts, and ultra-high purity cleaning and analytical services for the semiconductor industry in the United States and internationally. The company provides ultra-clean valves, high purity connectors, industrial process connectors and valves, pneumatic actuators, manifolds and safety solutions, hoses, pressure gauges, and gas line and component heaters; chemical delivery modules that deliver gases and reactive chemicals in a liquid or gaseous form from a centralized subsystem to the reaction chamber; and gas delivery systems, such as weldments, filters, mass flow controllers, regulators, pressure transducers and valves, component heaters, and an integrated electronic and/or pneumatic control system.