Investors Buy High Volume of Microchip Technology Call Options (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 141,002 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,252% compared to the typical daily volume of 10,426 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microchip Technology news, CEO Steve Sanghi sold 98,814 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.55, for a total transaction of $7,959,467.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,922,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,242,795.45. This represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microchip Technology

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter worth approximately $664,564,000. Dodge & Cox lifted its stake in Microchip Technology by 958.4% in the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,339,800 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $446,132,000 after acquiring an additional 5,740,827 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Microchip Technology by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,996,883 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $891,881,000 after acquiring an additional 5,590,210 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 38.2% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,827,447 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,041,868,000 after purchasing an additional 4,101,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,888,814 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,244,016,000 after purchasing an additional 2,489,258 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Microchip Technology Stock Up 0.2%

MCHP stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $64.71. The company had a trading volume of 9,403,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,344,066. Microchip Technology has a 1 year low of $34.13 and a 1 year high of $83.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $35.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -223.14, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.60.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.01. Microchip Technology had a negative net margin of 1.57% and a positive return on equity of 7.16%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. Microchip Technology’s revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Microchip Technology has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.480-0.520 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microchip Technology will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -627.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MCHP. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Microchip Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Truist Financial increased their target price on Microchip Technology from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Microchip Technology from $80.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Microchip Technology from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Microchip Technology from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.00.

About Microchip Technology

Microchip Technology Inc is a semiconductor company headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, that designs, develops and supplies a broad portfolio of embedded control and analog semiconductors. Its product lineup centers on microcontrollers (including the well-known PIC family), digital signal controllers and associated development tools and software, along with a range of mixed-signal and analog devices, nonvolatile memory, power management, timing, interface, wireless and security products. The company also provides integrated hardware and software solutions intended to simplify embedded design and accelerate time to market for OEMs and contract manufacturers.

Microchip’s products are used across a wide range of end markets, including automotive, industrial automation, consumer electronics, communications, aerospace and defense, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications.