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

Key Points

• Traders bought 12,060 call options on STM on Monday, roughly a 103% increase versus the average daily call volume of 5,929, indicating unusually heavy bullish options activity.
• STM shares traded up 4.6% to $35.90 Monday and sit near their 1‑year high ($36.45); the company has a market cap of $32.24 billion and a stretched valuation with a P/E of 199.33.
• Analysts are mixed — MarketBeat shows a consensus "Hold" with an average price target of $31.93 (7 Buys, 5 Holds, 2 Sells) — while institutional investors like AQR and the New York State Common Retirement Fund have recently added or increased positions, and hedge funds own about 5.05% of the stock.

STMicroelectronics N.V. (NYSE:STM - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 12,060 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 103% compared to the average daily volume of 5,929 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On STMicroelectronics

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amundi bought a new stake in STMicroelectronics during the first quarter valued at approximately $947,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in STMicroelectronics by 182.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 32,094 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock valued at $705,000 after buying an additional 20,745 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of STMicroelectronics during the second quarter valued at about $119,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in STMicroelectronics by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 160,629 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $4,885,000 after buying an additional 24,302 shares during the period. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of STMicroelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth about $370,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho set a $28.00 price target on STMicroelectronics in a report on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of STMicroelectronics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of STMicroelectronics from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, STMicroelectronics currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.93.

STMicroelectronics Trading Up 4.6%

NYSE:STM traded up $1.58 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $35.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,459,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,372,561. STMicroelectronics has a 1 year low of $17.25 and a 1 year high of $36.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a current ratio of 3.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 199.33 and a beta of 1.51.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.29 billion. Research analysts expect that STMicroelectronics will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal 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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