Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Camtek shares opened higher but later fell 4.7%, trading below both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The stock has a $6.35 billion market capitalization and a high P/E ratio of 212.31.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.75, despite ratings ranging from Buy to Hold.
• Camtek exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.78 in EPS and $133.24 million in revenue, while revenue increased 8% year over year. However, insiders sold $4.5 million worth of shares during the latest quarter.

Camtek Ltd. (NASDAQ:CAMT - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $142.78, but opened at $147.97. Camtek shares last traded at $136.2310, with a volume of 398,839 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAMT has been the topic of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Camtek in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $170.00 target price on Camtek in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Camtek from $165.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Camtek in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.75.

Camtek Trading Down 4.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a current ratio of 7.38. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $149.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.74. The company has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 212.31, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.56.

Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The semiconductor company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.02. Camtek had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 21.58%. The business had revenue of $133.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Camtek Ltd. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Rafi Amit sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.52, for a total transaction of $1,065,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,438,282. This trade represents a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Karni Yarl Andorn sold 3,176 shares of Camtek stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.40, for a total transaction of $522,134.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $220,789.20. The trade was a 70.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 26,843 shares of company stock valued at $4,514,249. 79.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Camtek

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Camtek by 38.2% in the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 2,302,009 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $349,008,000 after acquiring an additional 636,773 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Camtek by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 783,365 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $114,901,000 after purchasing an additional 134,791 shares during the last quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. boosted its position in Camtek by 11.4% during the first quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 349,773 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $51,836,000 after purchasing an additional 35,811 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Camtek by 1.9% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 59,485 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $8,711,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Camtek during the first quarter valued at about $8,296,000. Institutional investors own 41.93% of the company's stock.

About Camtek

Camtek Ltd. NASDAQ: CAMT is an Israel-based provider of inspection and metrology systems used in semiconductor manufacturing. The company develops equipment and software designed to identify defects, measure wafer and package characteristics, and support process control during the production of integrated circuits.

Camtek's product portfolio serves a range of applications, including advanced packaging, heterogeneous integration, chiplets, memory, foundry and logic manufacturing, and other high-density semiconductor processes.

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