Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $36.00 to $35.00. The stock had previously closed at $32.94, but opened at $31.10. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Super Micro Computer shares last traded at $31.79, with a volume of 16,221,569 shares trading hands.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wedbush reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Super Micro Computer in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cfra raised Super Micro Computer from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on Super Micro Computer from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Super Micro Computer in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Super Micro Computer to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Super Micro Computer has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.53.

Insider Activity

In other Super Micro Computer news, Director Robert L. Blair sold 19,460 shares of Super Micro Computer stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.58, for a total transaction of $828,606.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles Liang sold 46,293 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.17, for a total value of $2,322,519.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,403,640 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,381,640,618.80. The trade was a 0.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 137,473 shares of company stock valued at $6,771,552. Insiders own 17.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Super Micro Computer in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Super Micro Computer by 2,890.9% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 987 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Super Micro Computer by 902.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 992 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. purchased a new position in Super Micro Computer in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in Super Micro Computer by 900.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. 84.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Super Micro Computer Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $19.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 3.77. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $35.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.34.

Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. Super Micro Computer had a net margin of 8.09% and a return on equity of 30.57%. The firm's revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Super Micro Computer, Inc. will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

About Super Micro Computer

Super Micro Computer, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and manufactures high performance server and storage solutions based on modular and open architecture in the United States, Europe, Asia, and internationally. Its solutions range from complete server, storage systems, modular blade servers, blades, workstations, full racks, networking devices, server sub-systems, server management software, and security software.