Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Increases Stake in Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM - Free Report) by 7.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 179,579 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,551 shares during the quarter. Tower Semiconductor makes up about 1.4% of Essex Investment Management Co. LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC owned about 0.16% of Tower Semiconductor worth $7,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Tower Semiconductor during the third quarter worth $38,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Tower Semiconductor in the first quarter worth about $164,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Tower Semiconductor in the second quarter valued at approximately $177,000. Scientech Research LLC bought a new stake in Tower Semiconductor during the second quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Tower Semiconductor during the first quarter valued at approximately $243,000. 70.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Tower Semiconductor from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a report on Monday, September 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.33.

Tower Semiconductor Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TSEM traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $45.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 242,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 304,768. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.76 and a 200-day moving average of $38.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 4.94, a current ratio of 5.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Tower Semiconductor Ltd. has a 12-month low of $21.43 and a 12-month high of $46.27.

Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TSEM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $351.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $350.00 million. Tower Semiconductor had a net margin of 35.58% and a return on equity of 8.33%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Tower Semiconductor Ltd. will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

About Tower Semiconductor

Tower Semiconductor Ltd., an independent semiconductor foundry, focus on specialty process technologies to manufacture analog intensive mixed-signal semiconductor devices in Israel, the United States, Japan, Europe, and internationally. It provides various customizable process technologies, including SiGe, BiCMOS, mixed signal/CMOS, RF CMOS, CMOS image sensor, integrated power management, and MEMS.