Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TSEM) Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM - Get Free Report) dropped 3.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $32.45 and last traded at $32.50. Approximately 181,721 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 672,819 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TSEM has been the topic of several research reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of Tower Semiconductor from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Susquehanna began coverage on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Tower Semiconductor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tower Semiconductor currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.33.

Tower Semiconductor Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 6.17 and a quick ratio of 5.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.12 and a beta of 0.94. The stock's 50-day moving average is $32.22 and its 200 day moving average is $28.79.

Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TSEM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The semiconductor company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. Tower Semiconductor had a net margin of 36.44% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The company had revenue of $351.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $350.00 million. As a group, analysts predict that Tower Semiconductor Ltd. will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tower Semiconductor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TSEM. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Tower Semiconductor by 53.4% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 28,383 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,376,000 after acquiring an additional 9,882 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Tower Semiconductor during the 1st quarter worth approximately $208,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Tower Semiconductor by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 35,320 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,712,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Tower Semiconductor by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,239,808 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $156,807,000 after purchasing an additional 65,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ergoteles LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tower Semiconductor during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,979,000. 70.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Tower Semiconductor

Tower Semiconductor Ltd., an independent semiconductor foundry, focus on specialty process technologies to manufacture analog intensive mixed-signal semiconductor devices in Israel, the United States, Japan, Europe, and internationally. It provides various customizable process technologies, including SiGe, BiCMOS, mixed signal/CMOS, RF CMOS, CMOS image sensor, integrated power management, and MEMS.