Virtu Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 36,030 Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ:SMTC)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC invested approximately $1.24 million in Semtech Corporation by purchasing 36,030 shares in the first quarter.
• Semtech received multiple price target upgrades from analysts, with Stifel Nicolaus raising its target from $45.00 to $54.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating.
• The company's stock is currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with a consensus target price of $59.58.

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ:SMTC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 36,030 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $1,239,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Semtech in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Semtech by 58.5% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,498 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in Semtech by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 18,136 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,122,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Semtech by 16.8% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,084 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Semtech by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,226 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Semtech

In other news, CFO Mark Lin sold 999 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 17,211 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $754,530.24. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Asaf Silberstein sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.98, for a total value of $85,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 105,996 shares in the company, valued at $4,555,708.08. The trade was a 1.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Semtech Stock Performance

NASDAQ SMTC traded down $0.69 during trading on Friday, reaching $49.83. 1,198,181 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,677,505. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $47.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.19 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.81. Semtech Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $24.05 and a fifty-two week high of $79.52.

Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. Semtech had a positive return on equity of 19.66% and a negative net margin of 12.52%. The firm had revenue of $251.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $249.79 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.06 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Semtech Corporation will post -0.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on SMTC. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of Semtech in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $43.00 target price on Semtech in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Semtech from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Semtech from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Semtech in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.