Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX)

Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIMX) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 13,637 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,386% compared to the typical daily volume of 918 call options.

Himax Technologies Price Performance

NASDAQ:HIMX traded up $1.59 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $8.29. The company had a trading volume of 6,130,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 819,551. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02 and a beta of 2.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Himax Technologies has a 52-week low of $4.80 and a 52-week high of $8.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $5.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.30.

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

Himax Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Himax Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HIMX. Summit Securities Group LLC lifted its holdings in Himax Technologies by 1,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 4,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Himax Technologies by 77,712.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,225 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 6,217 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Himax Technologies in the third quarter valued at $56,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in Himax Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at $79,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Himax Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $98,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.81% of the company’s stock.

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.