Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Semtech Co. (NASDAQ:SMTC) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 3,647,188 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 62% from the previous session’s volume of 2,244,783 shares.The stock last traded at $37.01 and had previously closed at $54.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SMTC. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Semtech from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Semtech from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Semtech from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group assumed coverage on Semtech in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Semtech from $74.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.91.

Semtech Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $64.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.85. The company has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.64.

Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $236.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $232.89 million. Semtech’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.02 EPS.

Insider Buying and Selling at Semtech

In other news, CFO Mark Lin sold 2,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.45, for a total value of $177,755.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,446 shares in the company, valued at $323,764.70. This trade represents a 35.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Imran Sherazi sold 2,946 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.30, for a total transaction of $186,481.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $399,866.10. The trade was a 31.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,747 shares of company stock valued at $1,095,061 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Semtech

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Semtech by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,542,545 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $713,906,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326,226 shares during the period. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its stake in shares of Semtech by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 2,609,984 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $119,172,000 after buying an additional 114,999 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Semtech by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,617,783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $73,883,000 after buying an additional 119,572 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Semtech by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,061,871 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $65,677,000 after acquiring an additional 3,991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Semtech by 130.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 824,198 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,633,000 after acquiring an additional 466,868 shares during the last quarter.

Semtech Company Profile

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.