Stifel Nicolaus Cuts Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) Price Target to $35.00

Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $54.00 to $35.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the semiconductor company's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price objective indicates a potential upside of 33.50% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Semtech in a research note on Monday, April 7th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Craig Hallum decreased their target price on Semtech from $70.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Semtech from $82.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Semtech from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Semtech from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.33.

Semtech Stock Performance

Shares of SMTC traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $26.22. 1,919,571 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,122,676. The stock's 50-day moving average is $34.19 and its 200-day moving average is $49.18. Semtech has a fifty-two week low of $24.72 and a fifty-two week high of $79.52. The company has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.85.

Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $251.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $249.40 million. The business's quarterly revenue was up 30.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.06) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Semtech will post -0.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Semtech

In related news, CFO Mark Lin sold 2,990 shares of Semtech stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.45, for a total value of $177,755.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,446 shares in the company, valued at $323,764.70. This trade represents a 35.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 16,787 shares of company stock worth $665,044. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Semtech

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SMTC. Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its position in Semtech by 148.6% during the 4th quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 20,568 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 12,296 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Semtech by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 410,613 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $25,396,000 after purchasing an additional 56,108 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Semtech by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 205,363 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $12,702,000 after purchasing an additional 11,878 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Semtech in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,680,000. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new stake in Semtech during the fourth quarter worth about $889,000.

About Semtech

Semtech Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets analog and mixed-signal semiconductor and advanced algorithms. It provides signal integrity products, including a portfolio of optical data communications and video transport products used in various infrastructure, and industrial applications; a portfolio of integrated circuits for data centers, enterprise networks, passive optical networks, wireless base station optical transceivers, and high-speed interface applications; and video products for broadcast applications, as well as video-over-IP technology for professional audio video applications.