United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $12.64, but opened at $12.18. United Microelectronics shares last traded at $12.3450, with a volume of 2,133,654 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on UMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of United Microelectronics from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $8.60 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Microelectronics presently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Stock Down 2.9%

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $9.78 and its 200 day moving average is $8.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $30.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 1.16.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.01. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 17.60% and a return on equity of 11.45%. The business had revenue of $1.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in United Microelectronics by 873.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,464,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $74,389,000 after purchasing an additional 8,492,466 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in United Microelectronics by 50.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 8,403,064 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $64,283,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826,486 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in United Microelectronics by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,388,868 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $56,008,000 after purchasing an additional 344,416 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in United Microelectronics by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,655,721 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $40,438,000 after purchasing an additional 537,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in United Microelectronics by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,511,784 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $43,323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435,780 shares in the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.