Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Price Target Raised to $35.00

Key Points

• Analysts at B. Riley have raised the price target for Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $30.00 to $35.00, indicating a potential downside from the current stock price.
• The company's latest quarterly earnings exceeded expectations with a reported $0.07 EPS, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.06.
• Kulicke and Soffa Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" among analysts, with a target price forecast averaging $42.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at B. Riley from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the semiconductor company's stock. B. Riley's price objective indicates a potential downside of 14.02% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kulicke and Soffa Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ KLIC traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.71. 20,788 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 575,781. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $38.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 508.88 and a beta of 1.57. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a twelve month low of $26.63 and a twelve month 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 business had revenue of $148.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $145.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. The business's revenue was down 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.07, for a total value of $1,112,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 147,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,469,048.31. The trade was a 16.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 266,466 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $8,788,000 after buying an additional 3,667 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1,770.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 19,095 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $579,000 after buying an additional 18,074 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 14.5% during the second quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,645,508 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $56,935,000 after purchasing an additional 207,899 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 134.8% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,858 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $693,000 after buying an additional 10,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 99.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,214 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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