Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ:SMTC) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $146.53, but opened at $155.00. Semtech shares last traded at $158.6760, with a volume of 954,686 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMTC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Semtech from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Benchmark raised their target price on Semtech from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Craig Hallum raised their target price on Semtech from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. UBS Group raised their target price on Semtech from $105.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $157.00 target price on Semtech in a research report on Thursday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.50.

Semtech Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $14.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -356.77 and a beta of 2.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.57 and a 200 day moving average of $85.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 16th. The semiconductor company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $274.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $273.14 million. Semtech had a positive return on equity of 18.09% and a negative net margin of 3.86%.Semtech’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Semtech Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Semtech

In other Semtech news, Director Paul V. Walsh, Jr. sold 500 shares of Semtech stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.93, for a total transaction of $52,965.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,518,909.47. This trade represents a 2.06% 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 link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Martin Burvill sold 2,500 shares of Semtech stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.98, for a total value of $222,450.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $392,312.82. The trade was a 36.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,384 shares of company stock valued at $3,000,140. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Semtech in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Semtech by 243.2% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 508 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Semtech by 42.5% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 580 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Semtech by 65.5% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 594 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Semtech by 1,745.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 609 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the last quarter.

About Semtech

Semtech Corporation is a leading supplier of high-performance analog and mixed-signal semiconductors and advanced algorithms. The company’s products address a broad range of applications in the Internet of Things (IoT), data center and telecom, industrial, home automation, automotive, and aerospace markets. Semtech’s portfolio includes power management, signal integrity, protection devices, wireless and sensing technologies that enable smarter, more connected systems worldwide.

A core offering from Semtech is its LoRa® technology, a low-power, long-range wireless communication platform that has become a de facto standard for global IoT deployments.