Freedom Capital Upgrades FormFactor (NASDAQ:FORM) to “Strong-Buy”

FormFactor (NASDAQ:FORM) was upgraded by research analysts at Freedom Capital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

FORM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of FormFactor from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of FormFactor from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $115.00 target price on shares of FormFactor in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of FormFactor from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of FormFactor in a report on Monday, October 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.73.

FormFactor Stock Up 10.9%

FORM opened at $96.79 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 3.02 and a current ratio of 3.68. The company has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of 44.20 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $115.48 and its 200-day moving average is $113.63. FormFactor has a one year low of $47.33 and a one year high of $160.27.

FormFactor (NASDAQ:FORM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $280.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $270.52 million. FormFactor had a return on equity of 18.40% and a net margin of 17.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 38.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that FormFactor will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kelley Steven-Waiss sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.10, for a total value of $201,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,426 shares in the company, valued at $2,347,338.60. This trade represents a 7.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mike Slessor sold 17,510 shares of FormFactor stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.73, for a total value of $1,833,822.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 466,694 shares in the company, valued at $48,876,862.62. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 46,710 shares of company stock valued at $5,520,564 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FORM. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of FormFactor in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in FormFactor by 96.1% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in FormFactor during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in FormFactor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in FormFactor during the 3rd quarter valued at $58,000. 98.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About FormFactor

FormFactor, Inc is a semiconductor test and measurement company that designs and manufactures equipment and components used to evaluate integrated circuits during the wafer fabrication and production process. Its products help semiconductor manufacturers and suppliers measure electrical performance, identify defects and improve the development and manufacturing of advanced chips.

The company’s portfolio includes probe cards used for wafer-level testing, as well as probe stations, analytical systems and related accessories for semiconductor engineering and production applications.