Trexquant Investment LP Takes Position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. $KLIC

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has acquired a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, purchasing 20,861 shares valued at approximately $688,000 in the first quarter.
• Numerous institutional investors, including Fifth Third Bancorp and Caitong International Asset Management, have significantly increased their stakes in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, with some raising their investments by over 6,000%.
• Analysts have provided mixed ratings on Kulicke and Soffa, with one firm upgrading its price objective to $40.00, indicating a positive outlook despite a decrease in revenue year-over-year.

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 20,861 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $688,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 99.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,214 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 280.9% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,234 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1,763.5% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,379 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,305 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 6,289.3% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,578 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 3,522 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In related news, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.07, for a total value of $1,112,100.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 147,533 shares in the company, valued at $5,469,048.31. This represents a 16.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KLIC shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kulicke and Soffa Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.33.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLIC opened at $38.21 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $35.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.43. The stock has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 477.63 and a beta of 1.56. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.63 and a fifty-two week high of $52.08.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.01. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a net margin of 0.90% and a negative return on equity of 1.06%. The company had revenue of $148.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $145.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's revenue for the quarter was down 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 18th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 1,025.00%.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells capital equipment and tools used to assemble semiconductor devices. It operates through four segments: Ball Bonding Equipment, Wedge Bonding Equipment, Advanced Solutions, and Aftermarket Products and Services (APS). The company offers ball bonding equipment, wafer level bonding equipment, wedge bonding equipment; and advanced display, die-attach, and thermocompression systems and solutions, as well as tools, spares and services for equipment.

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