NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) Rating Lowered to "Strong Sell" at Mizuho

Key Points

• Mizuho downgraded NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) from a “strong-buy” to a “strong sell”.
• Despite that downgrade, the analyst consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $249.11 (1 Strong Buy, 12 Buy, 6 Hold, 1 Sell).
• NXP recently beat quarterly expectations with $3.35 EPS vs. $3.31 expected and $3.34B revenue vs. $3.30B expected; the company has a market cap of about $54.6B and ~90.5% institutional ownership.

NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Mizuho from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on NXPI. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of NXP Semiconductors from $285.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of NXP Semiconductors in a report on Friday, January 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of NXP Semiconductors in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of NXP Semiconductors in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of NXP Semiconductors from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $249.11.

NXP Semiconductors Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:NXPI opened at $216.03 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $211.66 and a 200-day moving average of $216.85. The company has a market cap of $54.59 billion, a PE ratio of 27.21, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.46. NXP Semiconductors has a one year low of $166.60 and a one year high of $256.36.

NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The semiconductor provider reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.04. NXP Semiconductors had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 26.72%. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.18 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that NXP Semiconductors will post 10.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NXP Semiconductors news, EVP Andrew Micallef sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.58, for a total value of $194,580.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,942 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,514.36. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NXPI. Norges Bank purchased a new position in NXP Semiconductors in the fourth quarter valued at about $613,029,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in NXP Semiconductors by 34,719.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,680,395 shares of the semiconductor provider's stock worth $581,807,000 after acquiring an additional 2,672,697 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in NXP Semiconductors by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,583,718 shares of the semiconductor provider's stock valued at $2,865,690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333,920 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in NXP Semiconductors by 307.7% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,179,129 shares of the semiconductor provider's stock valued at $268,523,000 after acquiring an additional 889,883 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in NXP Semiconductors by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,574,672 shares of the semiconductor provider's stock valued at $1,210,038,000 after acquiring an additional 818,985 shares during the period. 90.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About NXP Semiconductors

NXP Semiconductors N.V. is a global semiconductor company headquartered in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, that designs and supplies mixed-signal and standard product solutions for a broad range of end markets. The company focuses on enabling secure connections and infrastructure for embedded applications, developing technologies used across automotive, industrial and Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, and communication infrastructure segments. NXP's offerings target customers that require reliable, secure, and high-performance semiconductor components for connected devices and systems.

Product lines include microcontrollers and application processors, secure elements and authentication technologies, RF and high-power analog components, connectivity solutions, and vehicle networking and infotainment systems.

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