Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Semtech shares gapped up on Friday, opening at $155 after closing at $146.53 and last trading around $158.68, with heavy volume of nearly 955,000 shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive: several firms recently lifted price targets, and Semtech now has a Moderate Buy consensus with 14 Buy ratings, though the average target price is $113.50.
• The company’s latest earnings topped expectations, with EPS of $0.44 and revenue of $274.4 million, up 9.3% year over year, while insiders sold shares in recent months.

Shares of Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ:SMTC - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $146.53, but opened at $155.00. Semtech shares last traded at $158.6760, with a volume of 954,686 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Semtech from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Semtech from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Semtech from $105.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Semtech from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Semtech from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $113.50.

Semtech Stock Up 7.5%

The business's 50-day moving average price is $99.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.67 billion, a PE ratio of -356.77 and a beta of 2.22.

Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 16th. The semiconductor company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $274.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Semtech Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Martin Burvill sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.98, for a total value of $222,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at $392,312.82. This represents a 36.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Hong Q. Hou sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.11, for a total transaction of $180,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 73,228 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,598,575.08. This trade represents a 2.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 36,384 shares of company stock valued at $3,000,140 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Semtech

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Semtech during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Semtech by 243.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 508 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Semtech by 42.5% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 580 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Semtech by 65.5% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 594 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Semtech by 1,745.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 609 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the period.

Semtech Company Profile

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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