STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's Why

Key Points

• STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) hit a new 52-week high of $40.10 on Monday, last trading near $40.02 on about 2.58 million shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed—Susquehanna raised its target to $40 and Morgan Stanley upgraded to overweight, but the MarketBeat consensus remains a Hold with a $31.93 target, which is below the current price.
• The company missed on EPS (reported $0.11 vs. $0.27 expected) while revenue of $3.33 billion was roughly in line; profitability is weak (net margin 1.41%, ROE 2.7%) and the stock trades at a high P/E (~224).

STMicroelectronics N.V. (NYSE:STM - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $40.10 and last traded at $40.0150, with a volume of 2583499 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna upped their price target on STMicroelectronics from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised STMicroelectronics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Mizuho set a $28.00 price target on STMicroelectronics in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded STMicroelectronics from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, STMicroelectronics currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.93.

STMicroelectronics Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $33.28 and a 200-day moving average of $28.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 223.87 and a beta of 1.51.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.16). STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 2.70%. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that STMicroelectronics N.V. will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On STMicroelectronics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of STMicroelectronics by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,990,874 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock valued at $112,782,000 after acquiring an additional 641,327 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA boosted its holdings in STMicroelectronics by 378.6% in the third quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 620,238 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock valued at $17,528,000 after purchasing an additional 490,652 shares during the last quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC boosted its holdings in STMicroelectronics by 38.1% in the third quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 337,427 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock valued at $9,536,000 after purchasing an additional 93,111 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in STMicroelectronics by 43.4% in the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 927,695 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock valued at $26,216,000 after purchasing an additional 280,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in STMicroelectronics in the third quarter valued at $10,924,000. 5.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

STMicroelectronics Company Profile

STMicroelectronics is a global semiconductor company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, formed through the 1987 merger of SGS Microelettronica and Thomson Semiconducteurs. The company designs, develops and manufactures a broad range of semiconductor products and solutions that serve multiple end markets worldwide. ST's offerings span from basic components to integrated systems, emphasizing energy-efficient and high-performance devices for modern electronics.

Product categories include microcontrollers (notably the widely used STM32 family), analog and mixed-signal ICs, power MOSFETs and power-management devices, MEMS and sensors, image sensors, and discrete semiconductors.

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