Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM)

STMicroelectronics N.V. (NYSE:STM) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 12,060 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 103% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,929 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of STMicroelectronics from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of STMicroelectronics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings cut STMicroelectronics from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Mizuho set a $28.00 price target on STMicroelectronics in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.93.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On STMicroelectronics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of STMicroelectronics by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 18,500 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in STMicroelectronics by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,405 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in STMicroelectronics by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 17,282 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in STMicroelectronics by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 23,196 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in STMicroelectronics by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 20,598 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

STMicroelectronics Stock Up 4.6%

Shares of STMicroelectronics stock traded up $1.58 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $35.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,459,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,372,561. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 199.33 and a beta of 1.51. STMicroelectronics has a 1-year low of $17.25 and a 1-year high of $36.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.43, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.49.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.16). STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 2.70%. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that STMicroelectronics will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

STMicroelectronics Company Profile

STMicroelectronics is a global semiconductor company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, formed through the 1987 merger of SGS Microelettronica and Thomson Semiconducteurs. The company designs, develops and manufactures a broad range of semiconductor products and solutions that serve multiple end markets worldwide. ST’s offerings span from basic components to integrated systems, emphasizing energy-efficient and high-performance devices for modern electronics.

Product categories include microcontrollers (notably the widely used STM32 family), analog and mixed-signal ICs, power MOSFETs and power-management devices, MEMS and sensors, image sensors, and discrete semiconductors.