Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Sells 19,393 Shares of Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCTT)

Key Points

• Pinnacle Associates Ltd. reduced its stake in Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. by 5.5% in Q1, selling 19,393 shares and now owns approximately 0.74% of the company valued at $7.16 million.
• Ultra Clean reported a missed earnings estimate for Q1 with earnings per share of $0.28, below the consensus estimate of $0.31, and revenue of $518.60 million, also short of the projected $526.13 million.
• Analysts have varied ratings on Ultra Clean, with Needham & Company LLC lowering their price target from $40.00 to $26.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating, reflecting a broader trend of reduced price targets among brokerages.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lessened its stake in Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCTT - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 334,310 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 19,393 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. owned about 0.74% of Ultra Clean worth $7,158,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ultra Clean in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ultra Clean during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Ultra Clean by 386.9% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,412 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Ultra Clean by 58.1% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,913 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 703 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Ultra Clean by 29.1% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,725 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.06% of the company's stock.

Ultra Clean Price Performance

Shares of UCTT stock traded up $0.26 on Friday, reaching $23.96. The company had a trading volume of 350,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 502,251. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 38.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 2.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $16.66 and a one year high of $54.00. The business's 50-day moving average is $22.27 and its 200 day moving average is $25.63.

Ultra Clean (NASDAQ:UCTT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $518.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $526.13 million. Ultra Clean had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 5.50%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ultra Clean

In other news, insider Jeffrey L. Mckibben sold 6,294 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.87, for a total transaction of $131,355.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,996 shares in the company, valued at $459,056.52. This trade represents a 22.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jamie J. Palfrey sold 9,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.20, for a total transaction of $182,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 30,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,928. The trade was a 23.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,878 shares of company stock valued at $399,765. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.