Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TSEM) Shares Down 7.8% – Time to Sell?

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM) shares traded down 7.8% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $157.58 and last traded at $158.5490. 1,507,365 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 2,542,554 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Benchmark increased their target price on Tower Semiconductor from $165.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Tower Semiconductor from $114.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wedbush upped 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $173.00.

Tower Semiconductor Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 6.48 and a quick ratio of 5.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $135.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.76. The company has a market cap of $17.65 billion, a PE ratio of 81.19 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Institutional Trading of Tower Semiconductor

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Argent Trust Co purchased a new stake in Tower Semiconductor in the 3rd quarter worth about $287,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Tower Semiconductor by 43.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 548,700 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,786,000 after purchasing an additional 166,533 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Tower Semiconductor during the third quarter worth about $1,168,000. Granahan Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Tower Semiconductor by 42.6% during the third quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 178,188 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $12,883,000 after purchasing an additional 53,208 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Tower Semiconductor by 18.8% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,331,831 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $168,591,000 after purchasing an additional 369,600 shares in the last quarter. 70.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tower Semiconductor Company Profile

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.