Tower Semiconductor Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:TSEM)

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 9,060 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 98% compared to the average volume of 4,571 call options.

Tower Semiconductor Stock Performance

Tower Semiconductor stock traded up $4.56 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $188.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 803,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,253,552. The firm has a market cap of $21.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.28 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $222.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $232.89. The company has a current ratio of 4.91, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Tower Semiconductor has a twelve month low of $71.64 and a twelve month high of $319.94.

Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TSEM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.12. Tower Semiconductor had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 9.83%. The firm had revenue of $460.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $454.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. Tower Semiconductor’s revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Tower Semiconductor will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Yoav Chelouche sold 232 shares of Tower Semiconductor stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.06, for a total value of $49,893.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 33,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,254,834.04. The trade was a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Ellwanger sold 104,226 shares of Tower Semiconductor stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.34, for a total value of $25,883,484.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 526,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,822,531.92. This trade represents a 16.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 181,767 shares of company stock valued at $45,610,065 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Tower Semiconductor

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSEM. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Tower Semiconductor in the first quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Tower Semiconductor by 20.8% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 319 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Tower Semiconductor by 230.7% in the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 334 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Tower Semiconductor during the fourth quarter valued at about $103,000. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Tower Semiconductor during the first quarter valued at about $141,000. 70.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on TSEM shares. Barclays started coverage on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a research note on Friday, September 18th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $310.00 price objective for the company. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Tower Semiconductor in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. National Bank Financial raised Tower Semiconductor to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a research note on Friday, September 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tower Semiconductor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $316.00.

About Tower Semiconductor

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. is an Israeli specialty semiconductor foundry that manufactures integrated circuits for fabless semiconductor companies, integrated device manufacturers and system companies. The company provides process technologies and production services rather than selling branded end-user electronics.

Its offerings include analog and mixed-signal technologies, radio-frequency and high-voltage circuits, power management solutions, image sensors, and specialty memory products.