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

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCTT) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 998,100 shares, a growth of 16.8% from the October 15th total of 854,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 450,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Ultra Clean Price Performance

Shares of UCTT opened at $33.97 on Friday. Ultra Clean has a 1-year low of $25.65 and a 1-year high of $56.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.54. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 424.68 and a beta of 2.08.

Ultra Clean (NASDAQ:UCTT) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.02. Ultra Clean had a net margin of 0.18% and a return on equity of 4.08%. The company 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 business earned ($0.03) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Ultra Clean will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Harjinder Bajwa acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $33.33 per share, for a total transaction of $83,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 29,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $976,269.03. This trade represents a 9.33 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey L. Mckibben sold 3,422 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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 approximately $718,351. The trade was a 15.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of UCTT. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Ultra Clean by 52.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ultra Clean by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 800 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Ultra Clean by 465.5% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 803 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ultra Clean during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ultra Clean during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.06% of the company’s stock.

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.