Investors Buy Large Volume of Himax Technologies Call Options (NASDAQ:HIMX)

Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIMX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 11,481 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 133% compared to the average volume of 4,934 call options.

Institutional Trading of Himax Technologies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Himax Technologies by 49.6% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 868,500 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,777,000 after purchasing an additional 288,000 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Himax Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $164,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Himax Technologies in the third quarter valued at $1,125,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in Himax Technologies by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,909,036 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $15,349,000 after purchasing an additional 243,178 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Himax Technologies by 90.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 4,888 shares during the period. 69.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Himax Technologies Price Performance

Shares of HIMX traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $10.93. The stock had a trading volume of 5,304,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,050,126. Himax Technologies has a 12 month low of $4.80 and a 12 month high of $13.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company's 50-day moving average is $8.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.73.

Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter. Himax Technologies had a return on equity of 9.06% and a net margin of 8.77%.

Himax Technologies announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.