United Microelectronics Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:UMC)

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 50,345 call options on the company. This is an increase of 755% compared to the average daily volume of 5,886 call options.

United Microelectronics Trading Up 7.7%

UMC stock traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $13.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,706,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,940,750. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. United Microelectronics has a 52 week low of $6.56 and a 52 week high of $14.22. The stock has a market cap of $35.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.41.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.08. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 13.67%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Microelectronics will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UMC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of United Microelectronics from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $8.60 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Microelectronics currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $8.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Microelectronics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in United Microelectronics in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 313.7% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,265 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3,234 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Microelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners grew its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 583.7% in the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 8,656 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 7,390 shares during the period. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.