Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) Shares Down 4.5% – Should You Sell?

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM)’s share price was down 4.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $410.22 and last traded at $412.3510. Approximately 16,306,243 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 25% from the average session volume of 13,097,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $431.89.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moody’s upgraded TSMC’s rating to Aa2 from Aa3, citing the company’s dominant foundry position and sustained AI-related demand. The outlook was raised to stable, supporting TSMC’s access to financing and signaling strong balance-sheet credit quality. Moody’s upgrades TSMC rating
• Positive Sentiment: TSMC confirmed discussions with SpaceX about the proposed Terafab chip plant. The opportunity could create additional long-term demand and expand TSMC’s strategic role in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, although participation reportedly depends on TSMC operating the facility. TSMC and SpaceX Terafab discussions
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure demand remains the central bullish theme. Analysts and investors view TSMC’s leading-edge manufacturing, advanced packaging and capacity investments as critical to meeting demand that currently exceeds available supply. Recent commentary also argues that strong earnings growth could support substantial long-term appreciation. ASML versus TSMC AI demand analysis
• Positive Sentiment: TSMC executives increased their shareholdings in recent regulatory filings, a modest signal of insider confidence. New ETFs also feature TSMC prominently, potentially increasing investor exposure to the company as an AI semiconductor leader.
• Neutral Sentiment: TSM was highlighted as a preferred China-related technology investment alongside companies benefiting from AI, electric vehicles and augmented reality. The ETF launches and investment commentary may improve visibility, but they do not materially change TSMC’s fundamentals in the near term.
• Negative Sentiment: The reports provide no direct earnings disappointment or downgrade. However, comparisons with ASML emphasize that AI demand is exceeding current industry capacity, leaving execution, capital spending and the speed of new-fab expansion as key risks. High investor expectations could make the stock vulnerable if growth or capacity targets fall short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TSM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $665.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $430.00 to $554.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $528.78.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $434.47 and a 200 day moving average of $420.16. The firm has a market cap of $2.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The semiconductor company reported $4.62 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $46.87 billion for the quarter. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a net margin of 51.51% and a return on equity of 42.84%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. will post 17.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 10th will be paid a $1.0854 dividend. This is a negative change from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.1136. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 10th. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.27%.

Insider Transactions at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

In related news, VP Lipen Yuan acquired 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $73.58 per share, with a total value of $25,753.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,160. This trade represents a 21.21% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Bor-Zen Tien bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $73.06 per share, with a total value of $73,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $1,026,566.06. The trade was a 7.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased a total of 8,043 shares of company stock worth $598,956 over the last 90 days. 1.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TSM. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 88.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Markowski Investments purchased a new position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the second quarter worth $33,000. Curry Webb Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 257.7% in the first quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 93 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. 16.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Profile

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM), commonly known as TSMC, is a dedicated semiconductor foundry headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The company manufactures integrated circuits for customers that design their own chips, allowing semiconductor, electronics, and technology companies to outsource production rather than operate their own fabrication facilities.

TSMC provides wafer fabrication services across a broad range of process technologies, including advanced nodes used in high-performance computing, smartphones, automotive systems, and artificial intelligence applications.