MaxLinear (NASDAQ:MXL) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

MaxLinear, Inc. (NASDAQ:MXL)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $21.79, but opened at $19.74. MaxLinear shares last traded at $18.77, with a volume of 603,625 shares trading hands.

The semiconductor company reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.14). MaxLinear had a negative return on equity of 19.22% and a negative net margin of 57.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MXL shares. Northland Securities raised their price target on MaxLinear from $25.00 to $27.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of MaxLinear in a report on Thursday. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of MaxLinear from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Craig Hallum dropped their price objective on shares of MaxLinear from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of MaxLinear from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven G. Litchfield sold 32,000 shares of MaxLinear stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total transaction of $651,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 365,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,445,413.80. The trade was a 8.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Connie H. Kwong sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.61, for a total transaction of $93,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $914,625.67. This represents a 9.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,900 shares of company stock valued at $927,278 over the last 90 days. 8.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MXL. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in MaxLinear by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,268,857 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,098,000 after acquiring an additional 115,867 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of MaxLinear during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in MaxLinear by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,968 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in MaxLinear by 339.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,250,769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $24,740,000 after acquiring an additional 966,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weybosset Research & Management LLC increased its position in MaxLinear by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Weybosset Research & Management LLC now owns 92,731 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,834,000 after acquiring an additional 23,576 shares during the period. 90.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MaxLinear Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.08 and a beta of 1.79. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $19.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

About MaxLinear

MaxLinear, Inc provides communications systems-on-chip solutions worldwide. Its products integrate various portions of a high-speed communication system, including radio frequency, high-performance analog, mixed-signal, digital signal processing, security engines, data compression and networking layers, and power management.