NXP Semiconductors Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:NXPI)

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 16,013 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 253% compared to the average daily volume of 4,533 call options.

NXP Semiconductors Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NXP Semiconductors stock opened at $226.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. NXP Semiconductors has a 52-week low of $183.00 and a 52-week high of $339.95. The company has a market capitalization of $57.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $245.99 and a 200 day moving average of $251.54.

NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The semiconductor provider reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.09. NXP Semiconductors had a net margin of 22.56% and a return on equity of 27.83%. The company had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.72 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that NXP Semiconductors will post 13.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NXP Semiconductors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be issued a $1.014 dividend. This represents a $4.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. NXP Semiconductors’s dividend payout ratio is 34.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Andrew Micallef sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.57, for a total transaction of $315,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,821,826.94. This represents a 10.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NXP Semiconductors

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of NXP Semiconductors by 29,659.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 106,611,541 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $29,961,041,000 after acquiring an additional 106,253,301 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NXP Semiconductors during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,716,412,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in NXP Semiconductors during the second quarter worth approximately $21,099,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in NXP Semiconductors during the second quarter worth approximately $1,169,846,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in NXP Semiconductors in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,167,458,000. 90.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NXPI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of NXP Semiconductors in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on NXP Semiconductors from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on NXP Semiconductors from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $282.00 target price on NXP Semiconductors in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on NXP Semiconductors from $340.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.65.

About NXP Semiconductors

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) is a global semiconductor company headquartered in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The company develops and sells high-performance mixed-signal and standard semiconductor products used in automotive, industrial, communications infrastructure, mobile, and consumer applications.

Its product portfolio includes microcontrollers and application processors, automotive networking and radar solutions, connectivity chips, analog and interface devices, radio-frequency power products, and security technologies.