Wolfspeed (NYSE:WOLF) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Wolfspeed, Inc. (NYSE:WOLF)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $3.90, but opened at $3.69. Wolfspeed shares last traded at $3.57, with a volume of 4,312,200 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WOLF. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of Wolfspeed from $18.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Wolfspeed from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Wolfspeed from $10.00 to $6.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Wolfspeed from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $3.00 price target (down previously from $7.00) on shares of Wolfspeed in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.15.

Wolfspeed Trading Down 11.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $537.69 million, a PE ratio of -0.45 and a beta of 1.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $3.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.26, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 2.47.

Wolfspeed (NYSE:WOLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.72) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by $0.10. Wolfspeed had a negative net margin of 125.96% and a negative return on equity of 70.84%. The firm had revenue of $185.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.03 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.62) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Wolfspeed, Inc. will post -4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Neill Reynolds sold 13,909 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.99, for a total transaction of $55,496.91. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 195,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $779,075.43. This trade represents a 6.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wolfspeed

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Wolfspeed by 1,240.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 3,548 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Wolfspeed during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Wolfspeed by 192.0% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 2,912 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Wolfspeed by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,629 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Wolfspeed by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949 shares during the period.

About Wolfspeed

Wolfspeed, Inc operates as a powerhouse semiconductor company focuses on silicon carbide and gallium nitride (GaN) technologies in Europe, Hong Kong, China, rest of Asia-Pacific, the United States, and internationally. It offers silicon carbide and GaN materials, including silicon carbide bare wafers, epitaxial wafers, and GaN epitaxial layers on silicon carbide wafers to manufacture products for RF, power, and other applications.