Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TSEM)

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 26,831 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 467% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,731 put options.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Yoav Chelouche sold 232 shares of Tower Semiconductor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.06, for a total transaction of $49,893.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,734 shares in the company, valued at $7,254,834.04. The trade was a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Ellwanger sold 104,226 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.34, for a total transaction of $25,883,484.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 526,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,822,531.92. This represents a 16.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 181,767 shares of company stock valued at $45,610,065 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tower Semiconductor

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TSEM. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Tower Semiconductor by 20.8% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 319 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tower Semiconductor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Tower Semiconductor by 83.2% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 339 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in Tower Semiconductor by 230.7% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 334 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Tower Semiconductor during the 1st quarter worth $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.51% of the company’s stock.

Tower Semiconductor Price Performance

NASDAQ:TSEM opened at $187.92 on Friday. Tower Semiconductor has a 1-year low of $80.63 and a 1-year high of $319.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.13 billion, a PE ratio of 76.49 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $213.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $204.00. The company has a current ratio of 4.91, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TSEM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $460.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $454.68 million. Tower Semiconductor had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 9.83%. Tower Semiconductor’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Tower Semiconductor will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TSEM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Tower Semiconductor to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded Tower Semiconductor from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on Tower Semiconductor in a report on Friday, September 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tower Semiconductor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.00.

Tower Semiconductor Company Profile

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. is an Israeli specialty semiconductor foundry that manufactures integrated circuits for fabless semiconductor companies, integrated device manufacturers and system companies. The company provides process technologies and production services rather than selling branded end-user electronics.

Its offerings include analog and mixed-signal technologies, radio-frequency and high-voltage circuits, power management solutions, image sensors, and specialty memory products.