Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders bought 28,841 call options on STMicroelectronics, about 44% above its average daily call volume of 20,090, signaling elevated bullish interest.
• Stock dropped on the day: STM shares fell 7.4% to $62.75 during Thursday trading, even as volume remained below average.
• Wall Street remains cautiously positive: Analysts’ ratings skew bullish, with a consensus Moderate Buy and a $64.39 average price target, though some firms have set much higher targets near $100.

STMicroelectronics N.V. (NYSE:STM - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 28,841 call options on the company. This is an increase of 44% compared to the average daily volume of 20,090 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STMicroelectronics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Abound Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of STMicroelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in STMicroelectronics by 3,746.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares during the last quarter. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in STMicroelectronics during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of STMicroelectronics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors own 5.05% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group set a $100.00 target price on STMicroelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Mizuho raised their price target on STMicroelectronics from $68.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Barclays upgraded STMicroelectronics from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Zacks Research raised STMicroelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised STMicroelectronics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.39.

STMicroelectronics Stock Down 7.4%

Shares of STM traded down $5.00 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $62.75. The company had a trading volume of 8,971,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,418,631. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 3.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. STMicroelectronics has a 52 week low of $21.11 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The company's 50 day moving average price is $70.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.91. The stock has a market cap of $56.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 392.24 and a beta of 1.93.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, March 28th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter. STMicroelectronics had a return on equity of 3.01% and a net margin of 1.19%.The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts predict that STMicroelectronics will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

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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