Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) Sets New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Semtech shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $166.77 before finishing near $164.50, reflecting a sharp move above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts have raised price targets on the stock, with Morgan Stanley lifting its target to $155 and others following suit; the consensus rating remains Moderate Buy with a $118.50 target.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, posting $0.44 EPS on revenue of $274.4 million, while institutional investors continue to hold large stakes and insiders have recently sold shares.

Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ:SMTC - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $166.77 and last traded at $164.50, with a volume of 3058724 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $156.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Semtech from $89.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Semtech from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Semtech from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Semtech from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $157.00 price target on shares of Semtech in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $118.50.

Semtech Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -379.84 and a beta of 2.22. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $102.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.90.

Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 16th. The semiconductor company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $274.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $273.14 million. Semtech had a negative net margin of 3.86% and a positive return on equity of 18.09%. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Semtech Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Semtech

In related news, Director Paul V. Walsh, Jr. sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.21, for a total value of $69,105.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 23,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,217,390.59. This represents a 2.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Martin Burvill sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.98, for a total transaction of $222,450.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,409 shares in the company, valued at $392,312.82. This represents a 36.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 36,884 shares of company stock worth $3,069,245 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Semtech

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Semtech by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,858,352 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $873,842,000 after purchasing an additional 298,987 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Semtech by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,373,744 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $526,861,000 after purchasing an additional 261,647 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Semtech by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,691,676 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $335,220,000 after acquiring an additional 571,372 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Semtech by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,037,107 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $182,235,000 after acquiring an additional 60,788 shares during the period. Finally, Whale Rock Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Semtech by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC now owns 3,901,469 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $287,499,000 after acquiring an additional 396,504 shares during the period.

About Semtech

Semtech Corporation is a leading supplier of high-performance analog and mixed-signal semiconductors and advanced algorithms. The company's products address a broad range of applications in the Internet of Things (IoT), data center and telecom, industrial, home automation, automotive, and aerospace markets. Semtech's portfolio includes power management, signal integrity, protection devices, wireless and sensing technologies that enable smarter, more connected systems worldwide.

A core offering from Semtech is its LoRa® technology, a low-power, long-range wireless communication platform that has become a de facto standard for global IoT deployments.

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