Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of United Microelectronics Call Options (NYSE:UMC)

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 2,665 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 290% compared to the average volume of 683 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UMC shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Microelectronics has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

United Microelectronics Stock Performance

NYSE:UMC traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $8.86. 2,119,598 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,870,270. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $7.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. United Microelectronics has a one year low of $5.61 and a one year high of $9.11. The firm has a market cap of $22.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.08.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.25 billion. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 11.18% and a net margin of 17.08%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.18 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that United Microelectronics will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in United Microelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 313.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,265 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 3,234 shares during the last quarter. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Microelectronics in the third quarter valued at $80,000. Wealth Alliance LLC bought a new stake in United Microelectronics in the second quarter worth $77,000. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC purchased a new stake in United Microelectronics during the third quarter valued at $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

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.