Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 33,500,000 shares, an increase of 26.1% from the February 13th total of 26,570,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 9,930,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 6.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Microchip Technology

In other news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of Microchip Technology stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total transaction of $226,717.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,025,599.36. The trade was a 10.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microchip Technology

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 309.5% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 475 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Microchip Technology in the third quarter valued at $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Microchip Technology from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Microchip Technology from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Friday, February 7th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Microchip Technology from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Microchip Technology from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microchip Technology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.37.

Microchip Technology Price Performance

MCHP traded down $1.06 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $54.20. The stock had a trading volume of 3,810,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,857,047. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.79 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Microchip Technology has a 1-year low of $50.21 and a 1-year high of $100.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.40.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.15). Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 6.49%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microchip Technology will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 325.00%.

Microchip Technology Company Profile

Microchip Technology Incorporated engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of smart, connected, and secure embedded control solutions in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company offers general purpose 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit mixed-signal microcontrollers; 32-bit embedded mixed-signal microprocessors; and specialized microcontrollers for automotive, industrial, computing, communications, lighting, power supplies, motor control, human machine interface, security, wired connectivity, and wireless connectivity applications.