Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TSEM) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $205.80 and last traded at $203.3790, with a volume of 67719 shares. The stock had previously closed at $190.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Tower Semiconductor from $165.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Tower Semiconductor from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Tower Semiconductor from $114.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.00.

Tower Semiconductor Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 6.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $23.09 billion, a PE ratio of 106.49 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.61.

Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TSEM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The semiconductor company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.11. Tower Semiconductor had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 7.86%. The business had revenue of $440.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $439.81 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Tower Semiconductor Ltd. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tower Semiconductor

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Argent Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Tower Semiconductor during the third quarter valued at approximately $287,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its position in shares of Tower Semiconductor by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 1,009,846 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $118,084,000 after buying an additional 44,401 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Tower Semiconductor during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,168,000. Granahan Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Tower Semiconductor by 42.6% during the third quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 178,188 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $12,883,000 after buying an additional 53,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Tower Semiconductor by 18.8% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,331,831 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $168,591,000 after buying an additional 369,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.51% of the company’s stock.

About Tower Semiconductor

Tower Semiconductor, traded on NASDAQ under the symbol TSEM, is a specialty foundry company that provides analog and mixed-signal semiconductor manufacturing services to a broad array of customers worldwide. The company focuses on delivering tailored process technologies for high-growth markets, including radio frequency (RF), power management, imaging, automotive electronics, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. By combining deep process know-how with flexible manufacturing capabilities, Tower Semiconductor supports the development and volume production of advanced semiconductor devices for fabless and integrated device manufacturer customers.

The company’s technology portfolio spans standard and specialty processes such as CMOS, BiCMOS, high-voltage, radio frequency, silicon photonics, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and image sensor production.