Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• Kulicke & Soffa shares jumped after reporting quarterly EPS of $0.79 vs. $0.67 expected and revenue of $242.6M vs. $228.8M, a 49.8% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company set Q3 2026 guidance around $1.00 EPS and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.205 (annualized $0.82, roughly a 0.8% yield).
• Analyst views are mixed—MarketBeat shows a consensus "Hold" with a $50.50 target despite the stock trading near the mid-$90s; insiders have recently sold shares while institutional ownership is about 98%.

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $93.78, but opened at $106.01. Kulicke and Soffa Industries shares last traded at $96.6010, with a volume of 511,692 shares changing hands.

The semiconductor company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $242.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $228.75 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative net margin of 9.40% and a negative return on equity of 1.13%. The business's revenue was up 49.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.52) EPS. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.000- EPS.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were given a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently -67.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KLIC. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kulicke and Soffa Industries presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.50.

Insider Transactions at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other news, Director Mui Sung Yeo sold 19,143 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total transaction of $1,377,913.14. Following the sale, the director owned 78,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,652,013.56. This represents a 19.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Zi Yao Lim sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.54, for a total value of $71,540.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 22,714 shares in the company, valued at $1,624,959.56. This represents a 4.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 36,605 shares of company stock worth $2,645,582 in the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,231 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,556 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,368 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,926 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,929 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 4.7%

The stock has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of -81.79 and a beta of 1.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.57 and a 200 day moving average of $58.20.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.