United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Rating Lowered to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports.

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group cut United Microelectronics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $7.40 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Microelectronics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $7.40.

United Microelectronics Stock Performance

United Microelectronics stock traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $7.43. 13,568,344 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,994,488. United Microelectronics has a fifty-two week low of $7.02 and a fifty-two week high of $9.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.66.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The semiconductor company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 23.90% and a return on equity of 14.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Microelectronics will post 0.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of United Microelectronics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 102,206 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $895,000 after buying an additional 1,333 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC grew its position in United Microelectronics by 1.5% in the third quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 90,303 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in United Microelectronics by 9.1% during the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 19,351 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,609 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 71,459 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 15,627 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.05% of the company's stock.

About United Microelectronics

United Microelectronics Corporation operates as a semiconductor wafer foundry in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides circuit design, mask tooling, wafer fabrication, and assembly and testing services. It serves fabless design companies and integrated device manufacturers.