Tower Semiconductor Ltd. $TSEM Shares Sold by China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• China Universal Asset Management cut its Tower Semiconductor stake by 63.7% in the third quarter, selling 6,053 shares and retaining 3,450 shares valued at approximately $809,000. Institutional investors collectively own 70.51% of the company.
• Tower Semiconductor shares opened at $166.48, down 11.4%, and remain well below their 52-week high of $319.94. The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.88 in EPS and $460.08 million in revenue, up 23.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with an overall “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $316.00, despite recent insider selling totaling about $45.6 million.

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its position in Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM - Free Report) by 63.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,450 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 6,053 shares during the quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Tower Semiconductor were worth $809,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TSEM. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Tower Semiconductor by 0.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,081,175 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $189,723,000 after purchasing an additional 6,458 shares during the last quarter. E20 Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Tower Semiconductor in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $107,708,000. Swiss National Bank raised its position in Tower Semiconductor by 86.0% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 414,850 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $70,625,000 after acquiring an additional 191,839 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its stake in Tower Semiconductor by 1,175.6% in the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 340,108 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $58,025,000 after acquiring an additional 313,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Tower Semiconductor by 9.7% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 274,749 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $48,213,000 after acquiring an additional 24,200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.51% of the company's stock.

Tower Semiconductor Trading Down 11.4%

Shares of NASDAQ TSEM opened at $166.48 on Friday. Tower Semiconductor Ltd. has a twelve month low of $80.63 and a twelve month high of $319.94. The company's fifty day moving average is $212.65 and its 200-day moving average is $204.23. The stock has a market cap of $18.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.80 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 4.31, a current ratio of 4.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TSEM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.12. Tower Semiconductor had a return on equity of 9.83% and a net margin of 16.94%. The firm had revenue of $460.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $454.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Tower Semiconductor Ltd. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Yoav Chelouche sold 232 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.06, for a total value of $49,893.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 33,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,254,834.04. The trade was a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Russell Ellwanger sold 104,226 shares of Tower Semiconductor stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.34, for a total value of $25,883,484.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 526,788 shares of the company's stock, valued at $130,822,531.92. This represents a 16.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 181,767 shares of company stock valued at $45,610,065 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. National Bank Financial upgraded Tower Semiconductor to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho initiated coverage on Tower Semiconductor in a research report on Friday, September 25th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Tower Semiconductor from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $316.00.

Tower Semiconductor Profile

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. is an Israeli specialty semiconductor foundry that manufactures integrated circuits for fabless semiconductor companies, integrated device manufacturers and system companies. The company provides process technologies and production services rather than selling branded end-user electronics.

Its offerings include analog and mixed-signal technologies, radio-frequency and high-voltage circuits, power management solutions, image sensors, and specialty memory products.

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