Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ:SLAB)

Silicon Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLAB) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 1,820 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 5,588% compared to the average daily volume of 32 put options.

Key Silicon Laboratories News

Here are the key news stories impacting Silicon Laboratories this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Texas Instruments agreed to acquire Silicon Labs for $231 per share in cash, valuing the deal at about $7.5 billion — the takeover premium is the primary driver of today’s rally. Texas Instruments to acquire Silicon Labs
• Positive Sentiment: Silicon Labs reported Q4 results that beat estimates (EPS $0.56 vs. $0.54 consensus) and posted strong year-over-year revenue growth, which supports a higher takeout valuation and reduces standalone downside concerns. SLAB Q4 results
• Positive Sentiment: Shares spiked to multi-year highs on takeover news and heavy volume as investors priced in the $231 cash consideration. SLAB touches 4-year high
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target from $160 to $205 (now a sector perform), which signals institutional recognition of the changed valuation backdrop post-deal. RBC price target raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading was briefly halted for SLAB pending the takeover announcement — a standard market response to material M&A news and informational flow.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several media and analysis pieces are asking whether it’s too late to buy SLAB now that the deal price is public; this reflects debate about upside beyond the $231 cash offer. Is It Too Late to Buy SLAB?
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms have announced investigations and shareholder notices alleging potential breaches of fiduciary duty and asking shareholders to contact counsel — these actions can delay closing, increase deal risk or spark litigation seeking a higher price. Halper Sadeh investigation KSF investigator
• Negative Sentiment: Several brokerages (KeyBanc, Needham, Benchmark and others) moved to “hold” from “buy,” reflecting that the public cash offer caps upside for buyers and that analyst coverage will reset around the transaction price. KeyBanc downgrade Needham downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual put-option activity surged ahead of the announcement (large put buys), indicating some investors were hedging or betting on downside/transaction risk. This suggests a subset of market participants view the deal as contested or uncertain.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Nina Richardson sold 1,355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.00, for a total value of $201,895.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,272,907. This represents a 13.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brandon Tolany sold 1,954 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.49, for a total value of $276,471.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 62,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,826,287.69. This represents a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 7,555 shares of company stock worth $1,073,528 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Silicon Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,192,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Silicon Laboratories by 109.4% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 113,337 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $14,862,000 after buying an additional 59,207 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Silicon Laboratories by 51.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 170,704 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,155,000 after acquiring an additional 58,109 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Silicon Laboratories by 36.4% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 14,321 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,110,000 after acquiring an additional 3,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Silicon Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at $568,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Silicon Laboratories in a report on Monday, December 29th. Needham & Company LLC lowered Silicon Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp lowered Silicon Laboratories from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Silicon Laboratories from $160.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark cut Silicon Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.88.

Silicon Laboratories Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ SLAB opened at $205.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -103.13 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.59. Silicon Laboratories has a 12-month low of $82.82 and a 12-month high of $207.50.

Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ:SLAB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $208.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.63 million. Silicon Laboratories had a negative return on equity of 4.09% and a negative net margin of 8.27%.Silicon Laboratories’s revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.11) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Silicon Laboratories will post -0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Silicon Laboratories Company Profile

Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ:SLAB) is a global semiconductor company that develops high-performance analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits, wireless system-on-chips (SoCs), microcontrollers, and radio frequency (RF) solutions. Its product portfolio is tailored to support the Internet of Things (IoT), infrastructure, industrial automation, consumer electronics, automotive, and energy markets. By combining silicon, software, and tools, Silicon Labs aims to accelerate development cycles and deliver low-power, highly integrated solutions that address demanding application requirements.

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Silicon Labs has grown into a multinational organization with engineering and sales operations across North America, Europe, and Asia.