Short Interest in Silicon Motion Technology Corporation (NASDAQ:SIMO) Expands By 80.2%

Key Points

• Short interest in Silicon Motion Technology rose 80.2% to 1.46 million shares as of August 14, representing 4.5% of shares outstanding and a short-interest ratio of one day.
• The stock fell to $245.81, well below its 50-day moving average of $275.85, despite strong quarterly results: EPS of $2.43 beat estimates by $0.30, while revenue reached $451 million, up 127% year over year.
• Analysts remain bullish, with the stock carrying a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $341.43. Institutional investors own 78.02% of the company, while recent insider activity consisted of stock sales.

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation (NASDAQ:SIMO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 1,455,337 shares, an increase of 80.2% from the July 30th total of 807,432 shares. Currently, 4.5% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,439,653 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Silicon Motion Technology Stock Performance

SIMO traded down $9.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $245.81. The stock had a trading volume of 405,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,227,740. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $275.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $215.42. Silicon Motion Technology has a twelve month low of $77.22 and a twelve month high of $355.00. The company has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a PE ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.71.

Silicon Motion Technology (NASDAQ:SIMO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The semiconductor producer reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $451.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $403.41 million. Silicon Motion Technology had a return on equity of 32.04% and a net margin of 22.06%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 127.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Silicon Motion Technology will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on SIMO shares. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Silicon Motion Technology from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Silicon Motion Technology in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Silicon Motion Technology from $312.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of Silicon Motion Technology from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Craig Hallum reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Silicon Motion Technology in a report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and nine have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $341.43.

Insider Transactions at Silicon Motion Technology

In related news, Director Han-Ping Shieh sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.00, for a total value of $328,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,460,000. This trade represents a 11.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kuan-Ming Lin sold 2,000 shares of Silicon Motion Technology stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $610,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 8,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,592,500. The trade was a 19.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,000 shares of company stock worth $1,239,250. Company insiders own 5.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Silicon Motion Technology

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Silicon Motion Technology by 87.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 69,660 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $3,522,000 after acquiring an additional 32,527 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Silicon Motion Technology by 155.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 73,988 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $3,741,000 after purchasing an additional 44,976 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Silicon Motion Technology by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,806 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in Silicon Motion Technology during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $324,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Silicon Motion Technology by 141.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,738 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 5,704 shares during the last quarter. 78.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Silicon Motion Technology

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and markets NAND flash controllers for solid-state storage devices. The company offers controllers for computing-grade solid state drives (SSDs), which are used in PCs and other client devices; enterprise-grade SSDs used in data centers; eMMC and UFS mobile embedded storage for use in smartphones and IoT devices; flash memory cards and flash drives for use in expandable storage; and specialized SSDs that are used in industrial, commercial, and automotive applications.

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