Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCTT) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. experienced a dramatic increase in short interest, with a rise of 1,296.9% in July, totaling 1,450,000 shares compared to 103,800 shares at the end of June.
• Brokerages have provided mixed ratings on Ultra Clean, with Needham & Company increasing their price target from $26.00 to $30.00 while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from "hold" to "sell".
• Insiders sold 19,878 shares valued at $399,765 in the last three months, as significant selling activity was noted among company executives.

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCTT - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,450,000 shares, agrowthof1,296.9% from the June 30th total of 103,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 557,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Based on an average daily volume of 557,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Paul Yoonku Cho sold 4,084 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.06, for a total transaction of $86,009.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 23,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $491,645.70. This represents a 14.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey L. Mckibben sold 6,294 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.87, for a total transaction of $131,355.78. Following the transaction, the insider owned 21,996 shares in the company, valued at $459,056.52. This trade represents a 22.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ultra Clean

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ultra Clean by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,847,408 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $103,783,000 after acquiring an additional 12,180 shares in the last quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ultra Clean by 66.8% in the fourth quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 2,746,482 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $98,736,000 after buying an additional 1,099,899 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Ultra Clean by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,406,834 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $86,526,000 after purchasing an additional 77,307 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Ultra Clean by 62.9% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,681,675 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $36,005,000 after acquiring an additional 649,642 shares during the period. Finally, Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY boosted its holdings in shares of Ultra Clean by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY now owns 758,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $16,233,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on UCTT shares. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Ultra Clean from $60.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ultra Clean from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Ultra Clean from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Ultra Clean from $48.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th.

Ultra Clean Trading Down 3.2%

NASDAQ:UCTT traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.63. The stock had a trading volume of 467,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 542,977. Ultra Clean has a one year low of $16.66 and a one year high of $41.90. The company has a market capitalization of $980.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.40, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $22.66 and a 200 day moving average of $24.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 3.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Ultra Clean (NASDAQ:UCTT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.27. Ultra Clean had a positive return on equity of 5.32% and a negative net margin of 7.15%. The firm had revenue of $518.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $500.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. Ultra Clean's revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ultra Clean will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

About Ultra Clean

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc develops and supplies critical subsystems, components and parts, and ultra-high purity cleaning and analytical services for the semiconductor industry in the United States and internationally. The company provides ultra-clean valves, high purity connectors, industrial process connectors and valves, pneumatic actuators, manifolds and safety solutions, hoses, pressure gauges, and gas line and component heaters; chemical delivery modules that deliver gases and reactive chemicals in a liquid or gaseous form from a centralized subsystem to the reaction chamber; and gas delivery systems, such as weldments, filters, mass flow controllers, regulators, pressure transducers and valves, component heaters, and an integrated electronic and/or pneumatic control system.