United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.42, but opened at $10.93. United Microelectronics shares last traded at $10.9750, with a volume of 1,226,223 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UMC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane raised United Microelectronics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Bank of America downgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Microelectronics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Stock Down 2.4%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 1.10.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.01. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 11.59% and a net margin of 17.60%.The company had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 3,234 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in United Microelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Microelectronics in the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners lifted its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 583.7% during the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 8,656 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 7,390 shares during the period. 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.