Ultra Clean (NASDAQ:UCTT) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCTT)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $22.30, but opened at $19.09. Ultra Clean shares last traded at $19.68, with a volume of 115,323 shares traded.

The semiconductor company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $518.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $526.13 million. Ultra Clean had a return on equity of 4.08% and a net margin of 0.18%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.27 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Ultra Clean from $48.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Ultra Clean from $40.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Ultra Clean from $60.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ultra Clean

In other Ultra Clean news, Director Ernest E. Maddock bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.29 per share, for a total transaction of $242,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $267,190. This represents a 1,000.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bill Bentinck purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.17 per share, with a total value of $75,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,693.15. The trade was a 5.20 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ultra Clean

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ultra Clean by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 224,935 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,816,000 after buying an additional 5,114 shares in the last quarter. New World Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ultra Clean during the first quarter worth approximately $259,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ultra Clean by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 48,548 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 9,169 shares during the last quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY bought a new position in shares of Ultra Clean during the 1st quarter valued at $1,257,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Ultra Clean by 5.3% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 21,288 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the last quarter. 96.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ultra Clean Stock Down 12.5 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $880.93 million, a P/E ratio of 242.84, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 2.14.

About Ultra Clean

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc develops and supplies critical subsystems, components and parts, and ultra-high purity cleaning and analytical services for the semiconductor industry in the United States and internationally. The company provides ultra-clean valves, high purity connectors, industrial process connectors and valves, pneumatic actuators, manifolds and safety solutions, hoses, pressure gauges, and gas line and component heaters; chemical delivery modules that deliver gases and reactive chemicals in a liquid or gaseous form from a centralized subsystem to the reaction chamber; and gas delivery systems, such as weldments, filters, mass flow controllers, regulators, pressure transducers and valves, component heaters, and an integrated electronic and/or pneumatic control system.