Ultra Clean (NASDAQ:UCTT) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCTT) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $35.05, but opened at $36.38. Ultra Clean shares last traded at $33.94, with a volume of 177,399 shares changing hands.

The semiconductor company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $540.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $515.88 million. Ultra Clean had a positive return on equity of 2.59% and a negative net margin of 0.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.03) EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UCTT has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Ultra Clean from $60.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Ultra Clean in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Ultra Clean from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Craig Hallum upped their target price on shares of Ultra Clean from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $57.75.

Institutional Trading of Ultra Clean

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UCTT. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Ultra Clean in the first quarter worth about $111,828,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Ultra Clean by 454.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 335,096 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,380,000 after purchasing an additional 274,628 shares in the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ultra Clean during the 1st quarter worth approximately $10,915,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Ultra Clean by 130.1% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 367,212 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $14,663,000 after buying an additional 207,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ultra Clean by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,360,555 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $148,869,000 after buying an additional 148,819 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.06% of the company’s stock.

Ultra Clean Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $36.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.03. The company has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.76 and a beta of 2.08.

Ultra Clean Company Profile

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc develops and supplies critical subsystems, components and parts, and ultra-high purity cleaning and analytical services for the semiconductor industry in the United States and internationally. The company provides ultra-clean valves, high purity connectors, industrial process connectors and valves, pneumatic actuators, manifolds and safety solutions, hoses, pressure gauges, and gas line and component heaters; chemical delivery modules that deliver gases and reactive chemicals in a liquid or gaseous form from a centralized subsystem to the reaction chamber; and gas delivery systems, such as weldments, filters, mass flow controllers, regulators, pressure transducers and valves, component heaters, and an integrated electronic and/or pneumatic control system.