Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT) Trading Up 8.1% – Here’s What Happened

Camtek Ltd. (NASDAQ:CAMT)’s stock price shot up 8.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $192.22 and last traded at $192.6140. Approximately 35,964 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 501,862 shares. The stock had previously closed at $178.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CAMT shares. Wall Street Zen raised Camtek from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Northland Securities set a $174.00 target price on Camtek in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of Camtek in a report on Friday, April 17th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Camtek from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Camtek in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.33.

Camtek Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $8.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 223.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 8.35, a quick ratio of 7.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $180.09 and its 200 day moving average is $155.18.

Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.01. Camtek had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 22.26%. The firm had revenue of $121.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.15 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Camtek Ltd. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAMT. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Camtek by 202.0% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 299 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Camtek in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new position in shares of Camtek in the first quarter valued at about $42,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Camtek by 46.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 298 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Camtek by 61.6% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. 41.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.