STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) Rating Lowered to Underweight at Morgan Stanley

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of STMicroelectronics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of STMicroelectronics from $54.00 to $41.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Craig Hallum cut their target price on STMicroelectronics from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on STMicroelectronics from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on STMicroelectronics from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.63.

STMicroelectronics Stock Performance

STM stock traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $25.96. 5,009,396 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,956,718. STMicroelectronics has a 12 month low of $25.95 and a 12 month high of $51.27. The company has a current ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.32.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The semiconductor producer reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.27 billion. STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 16.11% and a return on equity of 13.44%. STMicroelectronics's revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that STMicroelectronics will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in STMicroelectronics by 26.5% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,195,521 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $228,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,719,257 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in STMicroelectronics by 2.4% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,132,920 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $135,467,000 after acquiring an additional 74,519 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics by 177.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,311,888 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $90,806,000 after purchasing an additional 1,478,213 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in STMicroelectronics by 0.5% in the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,564,232 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock valued at $61,443,000 after acquiring an additional 7,732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in STMicroelectronics by 1,564,831.9% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,079,803 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock valued at $46,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,079,734 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.05% of the company's stock.

About STMicroelectronics

STMicroelectronics N.V., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells semiconductor products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through Automotive and Discrete Group; Analog, MEMS and Sensors Group; and Microcontrollers and Digital ICs Group segments.