Himax Technologies Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:HIMX)

Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIMX) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 6,666 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 137% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,812 call options.

Himax Technologies Stock Performance

Himax Technologies stock traded up $1.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $10.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,934,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,190,335. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.46. Himax Technologies has a 52 week low of $4.80 and a 52 week high of $10.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.07 and a beta of 1.94.

Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.03. Himax Technologies had a return on equity of 9.06% and a net margin of 8.77%. The company had revenue of $222.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $205.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Himax Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Himax Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Himax Technologies by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 222,533 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,767,000 after purchasing an additional 38,457 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Himax Technologies by 67.0% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 267,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,124,000 after purchasing an additional 107,300 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Himax Technologies by 115.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 64,926 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 34,812 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Himax Technologies by 854.5% during the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 113,244 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $899,000 after buying an additional 101,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Himax Technologies in the second quarter valued at about $5,817,000. 69.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Himax Technologies from $7.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th.

Himax Technologies Company Profile

Himax Technologies, Inc, a fabless semiconductor company, provides display imaging processing technologies in China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, Europe, and the United States. The company operates in two segments, Driver IC and Non-Driver Products. It offers display driver integrated circuits (ICs) and timing controllers that are used in televisions, PC monitors, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, automotive, ePaper devices, industrial displays, and other products.