Wedbush Downgrades United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) to Neutral

Wedbush lowered shares of United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports.

Separately, Citigroup raised United Microelectronics from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.40.

United Microelectronics Stock Performance

UMC stock opened at $6.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.19. United Microelectronics has a one year low of $5.61 and a one year high of $9.00. The firm has a market cap of $17.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 1.12.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The semiconductor company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 20.35% and a return on equity of 12.78%. United Microelectronics’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Microelectronics will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Microelectronics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in United Microelectronics by 3,091.8% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 14,329,393 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $92,998,000 after purchasing an additional 13,880,446 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in United Microelectronics by 238.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,184,444 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $20,667,000 after buying an additional 2,244,574 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in United Microelectronics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,768,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in United Microelectronics by 150.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,021,849 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,122,000 after buying an additional 1,215,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 958.3% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 982,840 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,379,000 after acquiring an additional 889,972 shares during the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About United Microelectronics

United Microelectronics Corporation operates as a semiconductor wafer foundry in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides circuit design, mask tooling, wafer fabrication, and assembly and testing services. It serves fabless design companies and integrated device manufacturers.