Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC)

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 49,689 call options on the company. This is an increase of 468% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,751 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Microelectronics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in United Microelectronics by 1,794.6% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 62,656 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 59,349 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,655,721 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $40,438,000 after purchasing an additional 537,777 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 29,408 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 6,028 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in United Microelectronics in the second quarter valued at $108,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in United Microelectronics by 37.9% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,735 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 6,793 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UMC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane restated an “underperform” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE UMC opened at $22.68 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business’s 50 day moving average is $12.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.31. United Microelectronics has a 52-week low of $6.56 and a 52-week high of $23.69. The firm has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.89, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.41.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.08. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 20.71%.The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. Research analysts predict that United Microelectronics will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

United Microelectronics Company Profile

United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) is a Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry that provides wafer fabrication and related manufacturing services to a global customer base. Founded in 1980, the company operates as a pure-play foundry, producing integrated circuits for a range of customers including fabless semiconductor companies and integrated device manufacturers. UMC is publicly listed (NYSE: UMC) and focuses on high-reliability manufacturing rather than branding consumer products.

UMC’s core services encompass wafer fabrication using a portfolio of process technologies, with particular emphasis on mature and specialty nodes that support analog, power-management, radio-frequency (RF), and mixed-signal applications.