Ultra Clean (NASDAQ:UCTT) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCTT) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $69.57, but opened at $77.50. Ultra Clean shares last traded at $79.9550, with a volume of 284,202 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Ultra Clean from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research raised Ultra Clean from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ultra Clean from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Ultra Clean from $70.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Ultra Clean in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $113.40.

Ultra Clean Stock Up 0.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.83. The business’s 50-day moving average is $100.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 3.07.

Ultra Clean (NASDAQ:UCTT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $533.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $525.28 million. Ultra Clean had a negative net margin of 9.38% and a positive return on equity of 4.28%. Ultra Clean’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Emily M. Liggett sold 8,198 shares of Ultra Clean stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.18, for a total transaction of $755,691.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 38,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,516,851.36. This trade represents a 17.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Paul Yoonku Cho sold 944 shares of Ultra Clean stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.37, for a total transaction of $84,365.28. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 22,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,050,237.17. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 68,203 shares of company stock valued at $5,838,174. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ultra Clean

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Ultra Clean during the second quarter worth about $62,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Ultra Clean in the first quarter worth about $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ultra Clean by 37.3% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 721 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ultra Clean by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 989 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ultra Clean during the second quarter worth about $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.06% of the company’s stock.

Ultra Clean Company Profile

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc is a global supplier of critical consumables and process tools for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company specializes in precision parts cleaning, chemical–mechanical planarization (CMP) slurries, surface conditioning pads, and specialty components used in wafer fabrication and advanced packaging. Ultra Clean also provides assembly and test hardware, tooling, and automated modules designed to support complex front-end and back-end processes in semiconductor fabs.

Ultra Clean’s product portfolio encompasses a range of cleaning systems and consumables aimed at particle and film removal, as well as CMP slurries and pads that are engineered for uniform material removal and planarization.