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

STMicroelectronics N.V. (NYSE:STM) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 28,841 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 44% compared to the typical daily volume of 20,090 call options.

Institutional Trading of STMicroelectronics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STM. Abound Wealth Management bought a new stake in STMicroelectronics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of STMicroelectronics by 3,746.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 974 shares during the period. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in STMicroelectronics during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in STMicroelectronics in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in STMicroelectronics in the third quarter valued at about $52,000. Institutional investors own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

STMicroelectronics Stock Down 7.4%

Shares of STM stock traded down $5.00 on Thursday, hitting $62.75. The stock had a trading volume of 8,971,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,418,631. STMicroelectronics has a 52-week low of $21.11 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 3.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 392.24 and a beta of 1.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $70.11 and its 200-day moving average is $46.91.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, March 28th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter. STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 1.19% and a return on equity of 3.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that STMicroelectronics will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on STM. Robert W. Baird set a $90.00 price objective on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research report on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STMicroelectronics in a report on Monday. Craig Hallum upgraded shares of STMicroelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group set a $100.00 price objective on STMicroelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on STMicroelectronics from $68.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.39.

About STMicroelectronics

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.