Short Interest in Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) Declines By 13.8%

Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,030,000 shares, a drop of 13.8% from the January 31st total of 8,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,530,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Analog Devices from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Lake Street Capital assumed coverage on Analog Devices in a research note on Friday, February 14th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price target on Analog Devices from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Analog Devices from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective (up from $245.00) on shares of Analog Devices in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Analog Devices currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Vincent Roche sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total transaction of $2,154,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 21,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,737,116.67. This represents a 31.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Analog Devices

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Analog Devices in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Analog Devices in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Analog Devices in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Analog Devices in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Analog Devices in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.81% of the company’s stock.

Analog Devices Stock Performance

Shares of ADI stock opened at $222.77 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $218.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $221.23. Analog Devices has a 52 week low of $182.57 and a 52 week high of $247.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.93. The firm has a market cap of $110.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.07.

Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.09. Analog Devices had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 8.91%. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.73 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Analog Devices will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Analog Devices Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. This is a boost from Analog Devices’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Analog Devices’s payout ratio is currently 126.11%.

Analog Devices declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analog Devices Company Profile

Analog Devices, Inc designs, manufactures, tests, and markets integrated circuits (ICs), software, and subsystems products in the United States, rest of North and South America, Europe, Japan, China, and rest of Asia. The company provides data converter products, which translate real-world analog signals into digital data, as well as translates digital data into analog signals; power management and reference products for power conversion, driver monitoring, sequencing, and energy management applications in the automotive, communications, industrial, and consumer markets; and power ICs that include performance, integration, and software design simulation tools for accurate power supply designs.