Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Sets New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Kulicke and Soffa Industries shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $124.75 after the stock had already been climbing well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Recent analyst action has been mixed but generally positive: Weiss Ratings and Zacks upgraded the stock, while Needham raised its price target to $105 and kept a buy rating. MarketBeat still shows a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.
• The company posted a strong quarterly earnings beat, with EPS of $0.79 versus $0.67 expected and revenue up 49.8% year over year, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.205 per share.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $124.75 and last traded at $117.27, with a volume of 1723011 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $115.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KLIC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $70.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.25.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $94.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 112.76 and a beta of 1.70.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.12. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 7.16%.The firm had revenue of $242.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $228.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.52) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 49.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.000- EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 18th will be issued a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 18th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Peter T. M. Kong sold 1,551 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $170,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 100,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,000,990. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mui Sung Yeo sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 59,197 shares in the company, valued at $5,919,700. The trade was a 25.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 38,051 shares of company stock valued at $4,030,880 over the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 64,220 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,118,000 after buying an additional 5,836 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 168.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 49,445 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,631,000 after acquiring an additional 31,048 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 2.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,080 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 8.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 155,842 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $5,140,000 after purchasing an additional 11,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 55.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 66,898 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 23,923 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Kulicke & Soffa Industries NASDAQ: KLIC is a global supplier of semiconductor and LED assembly equipment. The company specializes in the design, development and manufacture of advanced die bonding, wire bonding, flip-chip bumping and wafer-level packaging systems. Its solutions support a wide range of applications in consumer electronics, automotive, communications and other high-growth segments within the semiconductor and LED industries.

Key products include precision wire bonders for microelectronic packaging, die attach systems for chip placement, flip-chip bonders for advanced packaging architectures and LED packaging platforms that enable high-volume production of automotive and general-illumination LEDs.

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