Tower Semiconductor Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:TSEM)

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM – Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 26,831 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 467% compared to the average daily volume of 4,731 put options.

Tower Semiconductor Price Performance

TSEM stock traded up $4.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $193.52. The stock had a trading volume of 1,773,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,269,430. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $215.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $203.28. The company has a current ratio of 4.91, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $21.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.49 and a beta of 0.89. Tower Semiconductor has a 52-week low of $80.63 and a 52-week high of $319.94.

Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TSEM – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $460.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $454.68 million. Tower Semiconductor had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 9.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Tower Semiconductor will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tower Semiconductor news, Director Yoav Chelouche sold 232 shares of Tower Semiconductor stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.06, for a total value of $49,893.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,254,834.04. The trade was a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Russell Ellwanger sold 104,226 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.34, for a total transaction of $25,883,484.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 526,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,822,531.92. The trade was a 16.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 181,767 shares of company stock worth $45,610,065 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Tower Semiconductor

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Tower Semiconductor by 20.8% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 319 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Tower Semiconductor in the third quarter valued at approximately $75,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in Tower Semiconductor by 230.7% in the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 334 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its position in Tower Semiconductor by 83.2% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 339 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust purchased a new position in Tower Semiconductor in the second quarter worth approximately $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Tower Semiconductor in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a report on Friday, September 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Tower Semiconductor from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of Tower Semiconductor to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tower Semiconductor currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $316.00.

Get Our Latest Research Report on Tower Semiconductor

Tower Semiconductor Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. is an Israeli specialty semiconductor foundry that manufactures integrated circuits for fabless semiconductor companies, integrated device manufacturers and system companies. The company provides process technologies and production services rather than selling branded end-user electronics.

Its offerings include analog and mixed-signal technologies, radio-frequency and high-voltage circuits, power management solutions, image sensors, and specialty memory products.

Further Reading

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