Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TSEM)

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 9,060 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 98% compared to the average volume of 4,571 call options.

Tower Semiconductor Stock Up 2.5%

Tower Semiconductor stock traded up $4.56 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $188.34. The stock had a trading volume of 803,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,253,552. Tower Semiconductor has a 1-year low of $71.64 and a 1-year high of $319.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a current ratio of 4.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.28 and a beta of 0.89.

Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TSEM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $460.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $454.68 million. Tower Semiconductor had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 9.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Tower Semiconductor will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on TSEM. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a research report on Friday, September 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a report on Friday, August 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $367.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Tower Semiconductor in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $316.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Yoav Chelouche sold 232 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.06, for a total transaction of $49,893.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 33,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,254,834.04. This trade represents a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Russell Ellwanger sold 104,226 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.34, for a total value of $25,883,484.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 526,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,822,531.92. This trade represents a 16.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 181,767 shares of company stock valued at $45,610,065 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capstone Capital Management Ltd raised its stake in Tower Semiconductor by 47.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capstone Capital Management Ltd now owns 10,509 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,390,000 after purchasing an additional 3,372 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Tower Semiconductor by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 158,901 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $37,115,000 after buying an additional 40,495 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Tower Semiconductor by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,710 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Tower Semiconductor by 20.8% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 319 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Tower Semiconductor by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,295 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.51% of the company’s stock.

About Tower Semiconductor

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. is an Israeli specialty semiconductor foundry that manufactures integrated circuits for fabless semiconductor companies, integrated device manufacturers and system companies. The company provides process technologies and production services rather than selling branded end-user electronics.

Its offerings include analog and mixed-signal technologies, radio-frequency and high-voltage circuits, power management solutions, image sensors, and specialty memory products.