Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Camtek Ltd. (NASDAQ:CAMT) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $171.62 and last traded at $170.70, with a volume of 157341 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $163.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Camtek from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Camtek in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Camtek in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Camtek in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on Camtek from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Camtek presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.92.

Camtek Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $138.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 7.31 and a current ratio of 8.35. The stock has a market cap of $7.68 billion, a PE ratio of 179.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.57.

Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The semiconductor company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.02). Camtek had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 23.61%. The business had revenue of $128.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $127.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Camtek Ltd. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Camtek

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC increased its holdings in Camtek by 139.6% during the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $592,000 after buying an additional 3,243 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Camtek in the fourth quarter valued at about $603,000. Sphera Funds Management LTD. grew its position in shares of Camtek by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. Sphera Funds Management LTD. now owns 39,498 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,200,000 after acquiring an additional 10,450 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its stake in shares of Camtek by 220.9% during the 4th quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 6,454 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 4,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Camtek by 126.1% in the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 11,852 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 6,611 shares during the period. 41.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Camtek Company Profile

Camtek Ltd. (NASDAQ: CAMT) is a provider of automated inspection and metrology solutions for the semiconductor and printed circuit board (PCB) industries. The company develops, manufactures and markets a suite of inline and stand-alone systems that perform high‐resolution 2D and 3D measurements, defect review and process control. Its products are used by integrated device manufacturers, foundries, OSAT (outsourced semiconductor assembly and test) providers, and PCB fabricators to optimize yield, improve product quality and reduce production costs.

Camtek’s core offerings include wafer inspection systems that detect and classify defects on patterned wafers, patterned wafer metrology tools for overlay and critical dimension measurements, and advanced packaging inspection platforms for 3D ICs and fan-out wafer-level packaging.