Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ:SMTC)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $64.49, but opened at $69.32. Semtech shares last traded at $68.2090, with a volume of 111,000 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMTC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Semtech from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Semtech from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Semtech in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Semtech from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Semtech in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Semtech has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.93.

Semtech Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $66.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 2.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of 274.40 and a beta of 2.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Semtech

In other news, Director Paul V. Walsh, Jr. sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.24, for a total transaction of $33,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,773,840.96. The trade was a 1.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Martin Burvill sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.75, for a total value of $219,625.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $433,539.75. The trade was a 33.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 4,971 shares of company stock worth $323,463 in the last quarter. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Semtech

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Semtech by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,702,315 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $402,560,000 after purchasing an additional 159,770 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Semtech by 3.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,373,744 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $526,861,000 after buying an additional 261,647 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Semtech by 13.9% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,691,676 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $335,220,000 after buying an additional 571,372 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Semtech by 1.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,037,107 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $182,235,000 after acquiring an additional 60,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Semtech by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,607,697 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $257,770,000 after acquiring an additional 289,313 shares during the period.

About Semtech

Semtech Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets analog and mixed-signal semiconductor and advanced algorithms. It provides signal integrity products, including a portfolio of optical data communications and video transport products used in various infrastructure, and industrial applications; a portfolio of integrated circuits for data centers, enterprise networks, passive optical networks, wireless base station optical transceivers, and high-speed interface applications; and video products for broadcast applications, as well as video-over-IP technology for professional audio video applications.