United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $22.46, but opened at $21.11. United Microelectronics shares last traded at $20.83, with a volume of 3,072,975 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UMC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. BNP Paribas Exane restated an “underperform” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.61.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 20.71%. On average, research analysts predict that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Microelectronics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UMC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Microelectronics during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 313.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,265 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 3,234 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in United Microelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners increased its position in United Microelectronics by 583.7% in the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 8,656 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 7,390 shares in the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About United Microelectronics

United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) is a Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry that provides wafer fabrication and related manufacturing services to a global customer base. Founded in 1980, the company operates as a pure-play foundry, producing integrated circuits for a range of customers including fabless semiconductor companies and integrated device manufacturers. UMC is publicly listed (NYSE: UMC) and focuses on high-reliability manufacturing rather than branding consumer products.

UMC’s core services encompass wafer fabrication using a portfolio of process technologies, with particular emphasis on mature and specialty nodes that support analog, power-management, radio-frequency (RF), and mixed-signal applications.