Needham Investment Management LLC Buys 57,950 Shares of PDF Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDFS)

Needham Investment Management LLC increased its stake in PDF Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDFS) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,817,500 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,950 shares during the period. PDF Solutions accounts for 3.8% of Needham Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Needham Investment Management LLC owned approximately 4.69% of PDF Solutions worth $49,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in PDF Solutions by 111.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 16,415 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 8,660 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in PDF Solutions by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,712 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in PDF Solutions by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 109,920 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,977,000 after purchasing an additional 9,241 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in PDF Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $296,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in PDF Solutions by 50.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 90,851 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,460,000 after purchasing an additional 30,548 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John Kachig Kibarian acquired 34,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.80 per share, for a total transaction of $783,316.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,507,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,162,153.60. The trade was a 1.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael B. Gustafson bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.06 per share, for a total transaction of $92,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $520,556.44. The trade was a 21.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 11.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PDFS. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price target on PDF Solutions from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. StockNews.com raised PDF Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on PDF Solutions from $36.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th.

PDF Solutions Trading Up 4.9%

PDFS stock opened at $19.32 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.02. The company has a market capitalization of $756.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 193.20 and a beta of 1.47. PDF Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.91 and a 52 week high of $39.70.

PDF Solutions (NASDAQ:PDFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The technology company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $50.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.40 million. PDF Solutions had a net margin of 2.26% and a return on equity of 3.94%. On average, equities research analysts predict that PDF Solutions, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

About PDF Solutions

PDF Solutions, Inc provides proprietary software and physical intellectual property products for integrated circuit designs, electrical measurement hardware tools, proven methodologies, and professional services in the United States, China, Japan, and internationally. The company offers Exensio software products, such as Manufacturing Analytics that store collected data in a common environment with a consistent view for enabling product engineers to identify and analyze production yield, performance, reliability, and other issues; Process Control that provides failure detection and classification capabilities for monitoring, alarming, and controlling manufacturing tool sets; Test Operations that offer data collection and analysis capabilities; and Assembly Operations that provide device manufacturers with the capability to link assembly and packaging data, including fabrication and characterization data over the product life cycle.