Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a report on Monday, December 29th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $57.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. B. Riley reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 4.8%

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $59.46 on Tuesday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 12-month low of $26.63 and a 12-month high of $59.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $47.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -2,971.51 and a beta of 1.63.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The semiconductor company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $177.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $169.84 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a net margin of 0.03% and a negative return on equity of 1.64%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In related news, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.53, for a total value of $1,695,900.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 126,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,143,639.57. The trade was a 19.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Zi Yao Lim sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $45,000.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 23,714 shares in the company, valued at $1,067,130. The trade was a 4.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 36,004 shares of company stock worth $1,991,450 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KLIC. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 63.3% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 56,706 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,962,000 after acquiring an additional 21,983 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 14.5% in the second quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,645,508 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $56,935,000 after purchasing an additional 207,899 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 134.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,858 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $693,000 after buying an additional 10,826 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,313,378 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $80,043,000 after purchasing an additional 392,691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 404.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,304 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 1,847 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Company Profile

Kulicke & Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) is a global supplier of semiconductor and LED assembly equipment. The company specializes in the design, development and manufacture of advanced die bonding, wire bonding, flip-chip bumping and wafer-level packaging systems. Its solutions support a wide range of applications in consumer electronics, automotive, communications and other high-growth segments within the semiconductor and LED industries.

Key products include precision wire bonders for microelectronic packaging, die attach systems for chip placement, flip-chip bonders for advanced packaging architectures and LED packaging platforms that enable high-volume production of automotive and general-illumination LEDs.