Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ:SLAB) Sets New 1-Year High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• Shares of Silicon Laboratories hit a new 52-week high near $218 after reporting an EPS beat of $0.53 versus $0.49 consensus while revenue came in roughly in line at $213.5 million.
• Despite the rally, Wall Street's consensus rating remains Hold with an average price target of $167.78, though RBC recently raised its target to $205 amid several recent downgrades to Hold.
• Institutional investors increased exposure—most notably Millennium Management added about 96,404 shares and AQR boosted its stake by 43.7%—indicating notable hedge fund buying interest.

Shares of Silicon Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLAB - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $218.68 and last traded at $218.16, with a volume of 397206 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $217.00.

The semiconductor company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.04. Silicon Laboratories had a negative net margin of 8.27% and a negative return on equity of 4.07%. The firm had revenue of $213.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.02 million.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLAB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Silicon Laboratories in a report on Friday, March 27th. KeyCorp lowered Silicon Laboratories from an "overweight" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Benchmark lowered Silicon Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Needham & Company LLC lowered Silicon Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Silicon Laboratories from $160.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Silicon Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $167.78.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Silicon Laboratories

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Silicon Laboratories by 43.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 17,892 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,001,000 after buying an additional 5,439 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Silicon Laboratories by 2,804.1% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 99,842 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $11,239,000 after buying an additional 96,404 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Silicon Laboratories by 121.4% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 496 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Silicon Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $235,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Silicon Laboratories by 1.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 97,156 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $10,937,000 after buying an additional 1,679 shares during the last quarter.

Silicon Laboratories Stock Up 0.6%

The stock has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -109.68 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.94.

About Silicon Laboratories

Silicon Laboratories NASDAQ: SLAB is a global semiconductor company that develops high-performance analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits, wireless system-on-chips (SoCs), microcontrollers, and radio frequency (RF) solutions. Its product portfolio is tailored to support the Internet of Things (IoT), infrastructure, industrial automation, consumer electronics, automotive, and energy markets. By combining silicon, software, and tools, Silicon Labs aims to accelerate development cycles and deliver low-power, highly integrated solutions that address demanding application requirements.

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Silicon Labs has grown into a multinational organization with engineering and sales operations across North America, Europe, and Asia.

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