MaxLinear (NASDAQ:MXL) Sets New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• MaxLinear hit a new 52-week high on Monday, trading as high as $103.90 before last changing hands near $97.78, with the stock up about 3.5% on the day.
• Recent earnings beat expectations: the semiconductor maker reported EPS of $0.22 versus $0.18 expected, while revenue of $137.19 million came in roughly in line and was up 43% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment has improved, with several firms upgrading the stock to Buy, but MarketBeat still shows an overall consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $44.20, far below the current share price.

MaxLinear, Inc (NASDAQ:MXL - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $103.90 and last traded at $97.7760, with a volume of 708640 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $99.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Roth Mkm raised shares of MaxLinear from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of MaxLinear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of MaxLinear from $34.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MaxLinear from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital raised shares of MaxLinear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $44.20.

MaxLinear Stock Up 3.5%

The business's 50 day moving average is $27.43 and its 200-day moving average is $20.85. The stock has a market cap of $9.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.62 and a beta of 3.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.70.

MaxLinear (NASDAQ:MXL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The semiconductor company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. MaxLinear had a negative net margin of 25.96% and a negative return on equity of 2.33%. The firm had revenue of $137.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $137.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.05) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 43.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MaxLinear, Inc will post 0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Steven G. Litchfield sold 20,000 shares of MaxLinear stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.68, for a total value of $313,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 343,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,385,060.80. This trade represents a 5.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Connie H. Kwong sold 35,000 shares of MaxLinear stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.96, for a total transaction of $3,393,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 13,947 shares in the company, valued at $1,352,301.12. This represents a 71.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 99,097 shares of company stock worth $5,150,815 in the last three months. 7.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MaxLinear

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Global Investments boosted its stake in MaxLinear by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 66,942 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 8,935 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in MaxLinear by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,689,692 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $29,376,000 after purchasing an additional 113,058 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in MaxLinear during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in MaxLinear by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 43,111 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $750,000 after purchasing an additional 7,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in MaxLinear by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 395,317 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $6,875,000 after purchasing an additional 3,637 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.79% of the company's stock.

MaxLinear Company Profile

MaxLinear, Inc is a provider of radio-frequency (RF), analog, and mixed-signal integrated circuits for broadband communications, data center connectivity, and video infrastructure applications. The company's product portfolio includes high-performance RF front-end modules, broadband power amplifiers, optical and Ethernet transceivers, and network processors designed to support demanding signal processing requirements.

MaxLinear's semiconductor solutions are used by cable and satellite television operators, fiber-to-the-home service providers, network equipment manufacturers, and data center operators.

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.