Heartland Advisors Inc. Sells 75,640 Shares of Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ:SMTC)

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Semtech Corporation by 36.1%, selling 75,640 shares during the first quarter
• Semtech reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.31, exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.21, and recorded a 21.8% year-over-year revenue increase
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Semtech with a target price averaging $59.58

Heartland Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ:SMTC - Free Report) by 36.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 133,752 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 75,640 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Semtech worth $4,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Semtech in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Semtech by 104,700.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Semtech in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Semtech by 58.5% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,498 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp acquired a new position in shares of Semtech in the 1st quarter valued at about $64,000.

Semtech Stock Up 2.1%

Semtech stock traded up $1.09 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $54.16. The stock had a trading volume of 1,398,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,494,070. Semtech Corporation has a 1-year low of $24.05 and a 1-year high of $79.52. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $43.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.29 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.53.

Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The semiconductor company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $251.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $249.79 million. Semtech had a positive return on equity of 19.66% and a negative net margin of 12.52%. The firm's revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.06 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Semtech Corporation will post -0.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Asaf Silberstein sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.98, for a total transaction of $85,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 105,996 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,555,708.08. This represents a 1.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Lin sold 999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.84, for a total value of $43,796.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 17,211 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $754,530.24. This trade represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMTC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of Semtech in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Semtech in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $43.00 price objective on Semtech in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Semtech from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Semtech from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.58.

About Semtech

Semtech Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets analog and mixed-signal semiconductor and advanced algorithms. It provides signal integrity products, including a portfolio of optical data communications and video transport products used in various infrastructure, and industrial applications; a portfolio of integrated circuits for data centers, enterprise networks, passive optical networks, wireless base station optical transceivers, and high-speed interface applications; and video products for broadcast applications, as well as video-over-IP technology for professional audio video applications.