United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $21.08, but opened at $23.66. United Microelectronics shares last traded at $22.4590, with a volume of 8,070,757 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on UMC. Wall Street Zen raised shares of United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of United Microelectronics from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $8.60 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Trading Up 5.5%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.98 billion, a PE ratio of 34.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.41.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.08. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 13.67%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Equities analysts expect that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Microelectronics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UMC. Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,097,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 3,854.2% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 168,648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 164,383 shares in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 792,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,228,000 after acquiring an additional 95,871 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 102.7% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 541,044 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,101,000 after acquiring an additional 274,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in United Microelectronics by 2,855.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 235,604 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,786,000 after purchasing an additional 227,633 shares during the period. 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.