United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• United Microelectronics was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from “hold” to “buy”, though the broader analyst view remains bearish with a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a price target of $8.60.
• The company recently reported earnings of $0.20 per share, beating estimates of $0.12, while revenue came in slightly below expectations at $1.91 billion.
• UMC shares opened at $19.43 and the stock has traded between $6.56 and $28.96 over the past 12 months; institutional investors also hold a modest 5.05% of the company.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on UMC. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. BNP Paribas Exane restated an "underperform" rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a report on Thursday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Sell" and a consensus price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of United Microelectronics stock opened at $19.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.75. United Microelectronics has a 12 month low of $6.56 and a 12 month high of $28.96.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 13.67%. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Microelectronics will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Microelectronics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of UMC. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in United Microelectronics by 873.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,464,312 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $74,389,000 after purchasing an additional 8,492,466 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in United Microelectronics by 50.7% in the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 8,403,064 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $64,283,000 after buying an additional 2,826,486 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 4.9% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,388,868 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $56,008,000 after buying an additional 344,416 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 10.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,655,721 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $40,438,000 after buying an additional 537,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,511,784 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $43,323,000 after buying an additional 1,435,780 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.05% of the company's stock.

About United Microelectronics

United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) is a Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry that provides wafer fabrication and related manufacturing services to a global customer base. Founded in 1980, the company operates as a pure-play foundry, producing integrated circuits for a range of customers including fabless semiconductor companies and integrated device manufacturers. UMC is publicly listed NYSE: UMC and focuses on high-reliability manufacturing rather than branding consumer products.

UMC's core services encompass wafer fabrication using a portfolio of process technologies, with particular emphasis on mature and specialty nodes that support analog, power-management, radio-frequency (RF), and mixed-signal applications.

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