Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Short Interest Down 14.1% in January

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,296,922 shares, a decline of 14.1% from the January 15th total of 1,510,589 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 567,133 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 567,133 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLIC traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $71.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 572,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 901,721. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $55.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.34. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 52 week low of $26.63 and a 52 week high of $77.50. The company has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -59.31 and a beta of 1.67.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $199.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.03 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative net margin of 9.40% and a negative return on equity of 1.13%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.600-0.740 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 18th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -67.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 7,098 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.28, for a total transaction of $520,141.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 22,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,684,487.36. The trade was a 23.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mui Sung Yeo sold 19,143 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total transaction of $1,377,913.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 78,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,652,013.56. This trade represents a 19.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 103,245 shares of company stock valued at $6,400,049. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,513,023 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $160,053,000 after buying an additional 20,535 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 21.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,348,020 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $81,241,000 after acquiring an additional 409,116 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,313,378 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $80,043,000 after purchasing an additional 392,691 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 0.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,280,025 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,295,000 after purchasing an additional 10,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,230,330 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $56,054,000 after purchasing an additional 77,527 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 price target (up from $35.00) on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research cut Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.50.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Kulicke & Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) is a global supplier of semiconductor and LED assembly equipment. The company specializes in the design, development and manufacture of advanced die bonding, wire bonding, flip-chip bumping and wafer-level packaging systems. Its solutions support a wide range of applications in consumer electronics, automotive, communications and other high-growth segments within the semiconductor and LED industries.

Key products include precision wire bonders for microelectronic packaging, die attach systems for chip placement, flip-chip bonders for advanced packaging architectures and LED packaging platforms that enable high-volume production of automotive and general-illumination LEDs.