United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Stock Sees Heavy Call Option Buying

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 115,946 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 826% compared to the typical volume of 12,525 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in United Microelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at $9,525,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,849,737 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,591,000 after buying an additional 333,011 shares in the last quarter. Delta Global Management LP bought a new position in shares of United Microelectronics during the 1st quarter worth $1,435,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of United Microelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth $3,757,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 508.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 169,183 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,519,000 after buying an additional 141,385 shares during the period. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Microelectronics Price Performance

Shares of UMC stock opened at $16.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.27 and a quick ratio of 2.75. The company has a market capitalization of $40.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.76. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.23. United Microelectronics has a one year low of $6.97 and a one year high of $28.96.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.33 billion. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 31.96% and a return on equity of 20.12%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that United Microelectronics will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UMC has been the topic of several analyst reports. HSBC upgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $37.42 to $33.76 in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings lowered United Microelectronics from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Arete Research raised United Microelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.79.

United Microelectronics Company Profile

United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) is a Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry that manufactures integrated circuits for other companies. It provides wafer fabrication and related services to fabless chip designers and integrated device manufacturers, rather than selling its own branded semiconductor products. Founded in 1980, UMC was Taiwan’s first semiconductor company. Its manufacturing and technology offerings serve applications including communications, consumer electronics, computing, automotive and industrial products.