Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIMX - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $8.98, but opened at $9.30. Himax Technologies shares last traded at $9.27, with a volume of 440,090 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HIMX shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Himax Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 9th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $8.80 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Himax Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Himax Technologies Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.73 and a beta of 2.17.

Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.01. Himax Technologies had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 8.80%. The company had revenue of $215.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.07 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Himax Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Himax Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 148.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Himax Technologies by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,357,482 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $35,033,000 after acquiring an additional 116,088 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Himax Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $167,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Himax Technologies by 788.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 91,463 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $6,720,000 after acquiring an additional 81,173 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Himax Technologies by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 694,445 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $5,583,000 after purchasing an additional 152,982 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Himax Technologies by 346.1% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,874,811 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $31,153,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006,311 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.81% of the company's stock.

About Himax Technologies

Himax Technologies, Inc, a fabless semiconductor company, provides display imaging processing technologies in China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, Europe, and the United States. The company operates in two segments, Driver IC and Non-Driver Products. It offers display driver integrated circuits (ICs) and timing controllers that are used in televisions, PC monitors, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, automotive, ePaper devices, industrial displays, and other products.