Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT) Stock Price Up 7.3% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Camtek shares jumped 7.3% to approximately $165.06, though trading volume was 65% below the average session volume.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $176.75; ratings are evenly split between Buy and Hold.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.78 in EPS and $133.24 million in revenue, while revenue grew 8% year over year. However, insiders sold $4.5 million of stock during the last quarter, and the shares carry a high P/E ratio of 258.3.

Shares of Camtek Ltd. (NASDAQ:CAMT - Get Free Report) were up 7.3% on Friday. The company traded as high as $164.13 and last traded at $165.0620. 168,793 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 488,571 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $170.00 price target on shares of Camtek in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Camtek in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Camtek from $165.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Camtek in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Camtek has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.75.

Camtek Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 258.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $147.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.56. The company has a quick ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 7.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.58% and a net margin of 7.40%.The firm had revenue of $133.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Camtek Ltd. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Camtek

In other news, CFO Moshe Eisenberg sold 3,759 shares of Camtek stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.06, for a total value of $601,665.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,453.04. The trade was a 18.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Ram Langer sold 6,387 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.32, for a total value of $1,100,607.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 17,532 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,021,114.24. This trade represents a 26.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 26,843 shares of company stock valued at $4,514,249 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 79.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Camtek

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Camtek by 576.7% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 203 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in Camtek in the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Camtek by 46.8% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 298 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Camtek in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Camtek during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. 41.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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