Short Interest in Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCTT) Grows By 16.8%

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCTT - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 998,100 shares, an increase of 16.8% from the October 15th total of 854,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 450,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on UCTT shares. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Ultra Clean from $60.00 to $57.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Ultra Clean from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Craig Hallum upped their price target on Ultra Clean from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Ultra Clean in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Ultra Clean has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ultra Clean

In related news, COO Harjinder Bajwa bought 2,500 shares of Ultra Clean stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $33.33 per share, with a total value of $83,325.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 29,291 shares in the company, valued at $976,269.03. This represents a 9.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jeffrey L. Mckibben sold 3,422 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.20, for a total transaction of $130,720.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,805 shares in the company, valued at $718,351. This represents a 15.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ultra Clean

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Ultra Clean during the first quarter worth approximately $111,828,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Ultra Clean by 454.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 335,096 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $13,380,000 after acquiring an additional 274,628 shares during the period. Hood River Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ultra Clean in the first quarter valued at approximately $10,915,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ultra Clean by 130.1% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 367,212 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $14,663,000 after acquiring an additional 207,633 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its holdings in Ultra Clean by 512.5% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 134,289 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $6,169,000 after purchasing an additional 112,366 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.06% of the company's stock.

Ultra Clean Stock Down 3.2 %

Ultra Clean stock traded down $1.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $33.97. The stock had a trading volume of 398,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 374,144. The company has a current ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $36.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.54. Ultra Clean has a 12 month low of $25.65 and a 12 month high of $56.47. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 424.68 and a beta of 2.08.

Ultra Clean (NASDAQ:UCTT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.02. Ultra Clean had a return on equity of 4.08% and a net margin of 0.18%. The business had revenue of $540.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $515.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.03) EPS. The business's revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ultra Clean will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

About Ultra Clean

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc develops and supplies critical subsystems, components and parts, and ultra-high purity cleaning and analytical services for the semiconductor industry in the United States and internationally. The company provides ultra-clean valves, high purity connectors, industrial process connectors and valves, pneumatic actuators, manifolds and safety solutions, hoses, pressure gauges, and gas line and component heaters; chemical delivery modules that deliver gases and reactive chemicals in a liquid or gaseous form from a centralized subsystem to the reaction chamber; and gas delivery systems, such as weldments, filters, mass flow controllers, regulators, pressure transducers and valves, component heaters, and an integrated electronic and/or pneumatic control system.

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