Ichor (NASDAQ:ICHR) Stock Sees Heavy Call Option Buying

Key Points

• Unusually heavy call-option activity hit Ichor: traders bought 2,629 call options, 207% above the average volume of 855. Shares rose $3 to $38.27 on Wednesday.
• Ichor reported quarterly EPS of $0.63, beating the $0.45 consensus, while revenue of $328.7 million came in slightly below estimates but grew 37.4% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $64.44. Insiders sold 46,740 shares worth about $2.6 million over the prior 90 days.

Ichor Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:ICHR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 2,629 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 207% compared to the average volume of 855 call options.

Ichor Price Performance

Shares of Ichor stock traded up $3.00 on Wednesday, hitting $38.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 225,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 988,964. Ichor has a 52-week low of $14.07 and a 52-week high of $113.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 3.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.60. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 765.63 and a beta of 1.88.

Ichor (NASDAQ:ICHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The technology company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $328.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.15 million. Ichor had a net margin of 0.32% and a return on equity of 3.54%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 37.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.07 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ichor will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ICHR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Ichor in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Ichor from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. B. Riley Financial dropped their target price on shares of Ichor from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Ichor in a research report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zacks Research raised Ichor from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ichor has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ichor news, Director Iain MacKenzie sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.66, for a total value of $1,013,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 102,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,188,951.82. This trade represents a 16.34% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Greg Swyt sold 2,068 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.02, for a total transaction of $119,985.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 47,832 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,212.64. The trade was a 4.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,740 shares of company stock worth $2,602,960. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Ichor by 63.8% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,473 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 1,742 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new position in shares of Ichor in the third quarter worth $504,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ichor in the third quarter worth $26,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Ichor by 48.3% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 29,174 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,804,000 after acquiring an additional 9,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ichor by 106.8% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,876 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 2,518 shares in the last quarter. 94.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ichor

Ichor Holdings, Ltd. designs, engineers and manufactures fluid delivery systems and components used in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Its products include gas and chemical delivery subsystems, gas panels, precision-machined parts and welded assemblies that help equipment makers control and deliver process materials used to manufacture semiconductor wafers. The company primarily serves original equipment manufacturers in the semiconductor capital equipment industry, supporting customers with manufacturing and engineering operations across multiple regions.

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