United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after BNP Paribas Exane downgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an underperform rating. The stock had previously closed at $11.38, but opened at $10.71. BNP Paribas Exane now has a $8.60 price target on the stock. United Microelectronics shares last traded at $10.3850, with a volume of 5,243,888 shares changing hands.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on UMC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America downgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Microelectronics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 53.1% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 21,259 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 7,376 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of United Microelectronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $219,000. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in United Microelectronics by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,610 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 1,563 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at about $164,000. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new position in shares of United Microelectronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,197,000. 5.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Microelectronics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.08.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.01. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 11.59% and a net margin of 17.60%.The business had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. United Microelectronics’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About United Microelectronics

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.