STMicroelectronics Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:STM)

STMicroelectronics N.V. (NYSE:STM) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors bought 35,790 call options on the company. This is an increase of 115% compared to the average volume of 16,663 call options.

STMicroelectronics Price Performance

NYSE:STM traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $46.75. The stock had a trading volume of 9,684,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,098,268. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.99 billion, a PE ratio of 83.47 and a beta of 2.00. STMicroelectronics has a 52 week low of $21.11 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $49.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a current ratio of 3.13.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.03). STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 3.80% and a return on equity of 4.71%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that STMicroelectronics will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STMicroelectronics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of STM. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of STMicroelectronics by 171.4% in the 3rd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 475 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of STMicroelectronics in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of STMicroelectronics by 6,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 610 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of STMicroelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of STMicroelectronics in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded STMicroelectronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised STMicroelectronics from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, November 9th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on STMicroelectronics from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Morningstar upgraded shares of STMicroelectronics to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, STMicroelectronics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.06.

STMicroelectronics Company Profile

STMicroelectronics is a global semiconductor company that designs, develops and manufactures chips and related products for customers in a range of industries. Its portfolio includes microcontrollers, analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits, power semiconductors, sensors, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). The company’s products are used in automotive systems, industrial equipment, communications devices, computers and consumer electronics. Its offerings support applications such as vehicle control and safety, factory automation, power management, and motion and environmental sensing.