Short Interest in Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM) Drops By 13.3%

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM) was the target of a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,300,000 shares, a decline of 13.3% from the December 31st total of 1,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 570,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on TSEM. StockNews.com cut Tower Semiconductor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of Tower Semiconductor from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Tower Semiconductor in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Tower Semiconductor from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.33.

Tower Semiconductor Stock Up 0.4 %

Tower Semiconductor stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $48.89. 628,855 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 714,220. The company has a quick ratio of 4.89, a current ratio of 5.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43 and a beta of 0.89. Tower Semiconductor has a 52-week low of $28.11 and a 52-week high of $55.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $50.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.39.

Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TSEM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.12. Tower Semiconductor had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 14.75%. The company had revenue of $370.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $370.30 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. Tower Semiconductor’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Tower Semiconductor will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tower Semiconductor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TSEM. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Tower Semiconductor in the third quarter worth about $27,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of Tower Semiconductor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Tower Semiconductor during the fourth quarter valued at $61,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Tower Semiconductor by 319.3% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 1,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Tower Semiconductor by 21.1% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,472 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. 70.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tower Semiconductor Company Profile

Tower Semiconductor Ltd., an independent semiconductor foundry, focus on specialty process technologies to manufacture analog intensive mixed-signal semiconductor devices in Israel, the United States, Japan, Europe, and internationally. It provides various customizable process technologies, including SiGe, BiCMOS, mixed signal/CMOS, RF CMOS, CMOS image sensor, integrated power management, and MEMS.