Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIMX)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $9.14, but opened at $10.01. Himax Technologies shares last traded at $10.16, with a volume of 3,350,574 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Himax Technologies from $7.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th.

Himax Technologies Trading Up 7.5 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.57 and a 200-day moving average of $6.73. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.45 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Himax Technologies had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 9.06%.

Himax Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Himax Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HIMX. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Himax Technologies by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 43,761 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 8,575 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Himax Technologies by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 217,671 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,750,000 after buying an additional 4,143 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Himax Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $201,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Himax Technologies by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 694,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,583,000 after acquiring an additional 152,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Himax Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $107,000. Institutional investors own 69.81% of the company’s stock.

Himax Technologies Company Profile

Himax Technologies, Inc, a fabless semiconductor company, provides display imaging processing technologies in China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, Europe, and the United States. The company operates in two segments, Driver IC and Non-Driver Products. It offers display driver integrated circuits (ICs) and timing controllers that are used in televisions, PC monitors, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, automotive, ePaper devices, industrial displays, and other products.