Wolfspeed (NYSE:WOLF) Trading Down 6.4% After Earnings Miss

Wolfspeed, Inc. (NYSE:WOLF) shares were down 6.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $5.56 and last traded at $5.62. Approximately 15,456,522 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 18,625,893 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.00.

The company reported ($1.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.20). Wolfspeed had a negative net margin of 93.31% and a negative return on equity of 49.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on WOLF. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Wolfspeed from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Wolfspeed from $10.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Wolfspeed from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Wolfspeed from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Wolfspeed from $25.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.07.

Insider Transactions at Wolfspeed

In other news, Director Darren R. Jackson purchased 36,975 shares of Wolfspeed stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $6.76 per share, for a total transaction of $249,951.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 85,996 shares in the company, valued at approximately $581,332.96. This represents a 75.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Glenda Dorchak purchased 3,592 shares of Wolfspeed stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.33 per share, for a total transaction of $29,921.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $155,671.04. This represents a 23.79 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 78,067 shares of company stock valued at $524,747. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wolfspeed

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WOLF. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in Wolfspeed by 813.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,458,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,848,000 after purchasing an additional 2,189,500 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Wolfspeed by 1,158.0% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 833,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,082,000 after purchasing an additional 766,971 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Wolfspeed in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,542,000. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT increased its stake in Wolfspeed by 319.9% in the third quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 521,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,055,000 after purchasing an additional 397,057 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Wolfspeed in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,988,000.

Wolfspeed Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.82, a current ratio of 3.14 and a quick ratio of 2.54. The stock has a market cap of $717.99 million, a P/E ratio of -0.94 and a beta of 1.43.

Wolfspeed Company Profile

Wolfspeed, Inc operates as a powerhouse semiconductor company focuses on silicon carbide and gallium nitride (GaN) technologies in Europe, Hong Kong, China, rest of Asia-Pacific, the United States, and internationally. It offers silicon carbide and GaN materials, including silicon carbide bare wafers, epitaxial wafers, and GaN epitaxial layers on silicon carbide wafers to manufacture products for RF, power, and other applications.