Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,296,922 shares, a decrease of 14.1% from the January 15th total of 1,510,589 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 567,133 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Based on an average trading volume of 567,133 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLIC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a report on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (up from $35.00) on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kulicke and Soffa Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.50.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

KLIC stock traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.77. 572,954 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 901,721. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 12-month low of $26.63 and a 12-month high of $77.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $55.90 and its 200 day moving average is $45.34. The company has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -59.31 and a beta of 1.67.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.11. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 1.13% and a negative net margin of 9.40%.The business had revenue of $199.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.600-0.740 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 18th were given a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 18th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -67.77%.

Insider Activity at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other news, General Counsel Zi Yao Lim sold 1,000 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.54, for a total transaction of $71,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 22,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,624,959.56. The trade was a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mui Sung Yeo sold 19,143 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total transaction of $1,377,913.14. Following the sale, the director directly owned 78,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,652,013.56. This trade represents a 19.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 103,245 shares of company stock valued at $6,400,049. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,513,023 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $160,053,000 after buying an additional 20,535 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 21.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,348,020 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $81,241,000 after acquiring an additional 409,116 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,313,378 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $80,043,000 after purchasing an additional 392,691 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,280,025 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,295,000 after purchasing an additional 10,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,230,330 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $56,054,000 after purchasing an additional 77,527 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Company Profile

Kulicke & Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) is a global supplier of semiconductor and LED assembly equipment. The company specializes in the design, development and manufacture of advanced die bonding, wire bonding, flip-chip bumping and wafer-level packaging systems. Its solutions support a wide range of applications in consumer electronics, automotive, communications and other high-growth segments within the semiconductor and LED industries.

Key products include precision wire bonders for microelectronic packaging, die attach systems for chip placement, flip-chip bonders for advanced packaging architectures and LED packaging platforms that enable high-volume production of automotive and general-illumination LEDs.