Ultra Clean (NASDAQ:UCTT) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Ultra Clean shares gapped up sharply, opening at $115.50 after a prior close of $100.91 and last trading around $110.20, up 7.8% on the day.
• Analyst sentiment has turned more positive, with recent upgrades from Zacks Research and Wall Street Zen, plus price-target increases from Needham; the current consensus rating is Buy with an average target price of $107.40.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, posting $0.31 EPS versus $0.27 expected and revenue of $533.7 million, while management guided Q2 2026 EPS to $0.44–$0.60.

Shares of Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCTT - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $100.91, but opened at $115.50. Ultra Clean shares last traded at $110.20, with a volume of 366,128 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UCTT. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ultra Clean from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Ultra Clean from $70.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ultra Clean from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ultra Clean in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Ultra Clean in a report on Friday, June 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $107.40.

Ultra Clean Trading Up 7.8%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $96.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 3.07. The stock has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a PE ratio of -25.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.83.

Ultra Clean (NASDAQ:UCTT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $533.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $525.28 million. Ultra Clean had a negative net margin of 9.38% and a positive return on equity of 4.28%. Ultra Clean's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Ultra Clean has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.440-0.600 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Emily M. Liggett sold 8,198 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.18, for a total value of $755,691.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 38,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,516,851.36. This represents a 17.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jamie J. Palfrey sold 8,691 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.72, for a total value of $692,846.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,311,075.12. This represents a 34.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 80,106 shares of company stock valued at $6,734,589. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Goodman Financial Corp raised its position in Ultra Clean by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Goodman Financial Corp now owns 558,019 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $14,135,000 after buying an additional 20,011 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Ultra Clean during the 4th quarter valued at about $564,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ultra Clean by 90.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 589,055 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $16,052,000 after acquiring an additional 279,953 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ultra Clean in the first quarter worth approximately $710,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Ultra Clean by 902.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 126,043 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,193,000 after acquiring an additional 113,475 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.06% of the company's stock.

About Ultra Clean

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc is a global supplier of critical consumables and process tools for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company specializes in precision parts cleaning, chemical–mechanical planarization (CMP) slurries, surface conditioning pads, and specialty components used in wafer fabrication and advanced packaging. Ultra Clean also provides assembly and test hardware, tooling, and automated modules designed to support complex front-end and back-end processes in semiconductor fabs.

Ultra Clean's product portfolio encompasses a range of cleaning systems and consumables aimed at particle and film removal, as well as CMP slurries and pads that are engineered for uniform material removal and planarization.

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