Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIMX - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $9.28, but opened at $10.02. Himax Technologies shares last traded at $9.76, with a volume of 1,663,414 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Himax Technologies from $7.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th.

Himax Technologies Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $7.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.58. The company has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.00 and a beta of 1.94.

Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $222.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $205.93 million. Himax Technologies had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 9.06%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share.

Himax Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Himax Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Himax Technologies by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,909,036 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $15,349,000 after purchasing an additional 243,178 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Himax Technologies by 49.6% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 868,500 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,777,000 after acquiring an additional 288,000 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Himax Technologies by 4.8% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 470,526 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,588,000 after acquiring an additional 21,607 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Himax Technologies by 324.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 296,210 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,629,000 after purchasing an additional 226,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Himax Technologies by 67.0% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 267,500 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,124,000 after purchasing an additional 107,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.81% of the company's stock.

About Himax Technologies

Himax Technologies, Inc, a fabless semiconductor company, provides display imaging processing technologies in China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, Europe, and the United States. The company operates in two segments, Driver IC and Non-Driver Products. It offers display driver integrated circuits (ICs) and timing controllers that are used in televisions, PC monitors, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, automotive, ePaper devices, industrial displays, and other products.