Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on ASE Technology (NYSE:ASX)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders purchased 53,259 call options on ASE Technology, roughly 683% above the average daily call volume of 6,804 contracts.
• Stock performance and fundamentals: ASX shares rose to $40.76, near their 52-week high of $45.51, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.29, exceeding estimates of $0.23.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: Despite Zacks Research downgrading the stock to “hold,” Weiss Ratings upgraded it to “buy”; analysts overall assign ASE Technology a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating.

ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE:ASX - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 53,259 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 683% compared to the average daily volume of 6,804 call options.

Institutional Trading of ASE Technology

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of ASE Technology in the first quarter worth about $10,436,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in ASE Technology in the 1st quarter valued at $8,932,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in ASE Technology by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 898,625 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $14,468,000 after acquiring an additional 335,973 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of ASE Technology during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $14,247,000. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its holdings in ASE Technology by 111.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 577,950 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $9,744,000 after acquiring an additional 305,192 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 6.80% of the company's stock.

ASE Technology Stock Performance

Shares of ASX traded up $0.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $40.76. 2,779,023 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,633,018. The stock's fifty day moving average is $37.98 and its 200 day moving average is $33.71. The stock has a market cap of $91.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.42 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.07. ASE Technology has a 1-year low of $10.93 and a 1-year high of $45.51.

ASE Technology (NYSE:ASX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $81.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.96 billion. ASE Technology had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 8.52%. Equities research analysts anticipate that ASE Technology will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered ASE Technology from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings raised ASE Technology from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

About ASE Technology

ASE Technology Holding Co, Ltd. is a Taiwan-based semiconductor manufacturing services company. Through its subsidiaries, including Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc and Siliconware Precision Industries Co, Ltd., the company provides outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing (OSAT) services for chipmakers and electronics companies.

Its services include semiconductor packaging, wafer probing, final testing, electronic manufacturing services, and related materials and engineering solutions.

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.