PDF Solutions (NASDAQ:PDFS) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Shares of PDF Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDFS) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $21.97, but opened at $23.36. PDF Solutions shares last traded at $23.59, with a volume of 61,436 shares changing hands.

Specifically, CEO John Kachig Kibarian bought 34,356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.80 per share, for a total transaction of $783,316.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,507,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,162,153.60. The trade was a 1.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael B. Gustafson purchased 4,000 shares of PDF Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.06 per share, for a total transaction of $92,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $520,556.44. This represents a 21.54 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PDFS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their target price on PDF Solutions from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of PDF Solutions in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of PDF Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

PDF Solutions Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.99 and a 200-day moving average of $29.27. The company has a market cap of $913.80 million, a PE ratio of 235.65 and a beta of 1.52.

PDF Solutions (NASDAQ:PDFS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The technology company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $50.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.40 million. PDF Solutions had a return on equity of 3.94% and a net margin of 2.26%. Equities research analysts forecast that PDF Solutions, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of PDF Solutions

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PDFS. Needham Investment Management LLC lifted its position in PDF Solutions by 32.3% during the third quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,759,550 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $55,743,000 after purchasing an additional 429,550 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PDF Solutions by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,063,583 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,802,000 after buying an additional 161,306 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of PDF Solutions by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 658,547 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,863,000 after buying an additional 94,154 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PDF Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $2,482,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in PDF Solutions by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 418,693 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,338,000 after acquiring an additional 53,037 shares during the period. 79.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About PDF Solutions

PDF Solutions, Inc provides proprietary software and physical intellectual property products for integrated circuit designs, electrical measurement hardware tools, proven methodologies, and professional services in the United States, China, Japan, and internationally. The company offers Exensio software products, such as Manufacturing Analytics that store collected data in a common environment with a consistent view for enabling product engineers to identify and analyze production yield, performance, reliability, and other issues; Process Control that provides failure detection and classification capabilities for monitoring, alarming, and controlling manufacturing tool sets; Test Operations that offer data collection and analysis capabilities; and Assembly Operations that provide device manufacturers with the capability to link assembly and packaging data, including fabrication and characterization data over the product life cycle.