Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) Stock Price

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) had its price objective upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $70.00 to $82.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective points to a potential upside of 10.40% from the company’s current price.

MCHP has been the topic of several other reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Microchip Technology from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Microchip Technology from $35.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. B. Riley lifted their price target on Microchip Technology from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Microchip Technology in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Microchip Technology from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microchip Technology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.70.

Microchip Technology Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:MCHP traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $74.28. The company had a trading volume of 604,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,924,714. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $40.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7,427.70, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.52. Microchip Technology has a 12 month low of $34.13 and a 12 month high of $93.31.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $970.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.86 million. Microchip Technology had a positive return on equity of 8.55% and a negative net margin of 0.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Microchip Technology will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microchip Technology

In other news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 2,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.78, for a total transaction of $112,396.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,979.14. This represents a 5.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Karlton D. Johnson sold 494 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.69, for a total transaction of $29,980.86. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $210,472.92. This trade represents a 12.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the first quarter worth $30,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microchip Technology by 211.2% during the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 473 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microchip Technology during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Microchip Technology during the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Microchip Technology

Microchip Technology Incorporated engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of smart, connected, and secure embedded control solutions in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company offers general purpose 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit mixed-signal microcontrollers; 32-bit embedded mixed-signal microprocessors; and specialized microcontrollers for automotive, industrial, computing, communications, lighting, power supplies, motor control, human machine interface, security, wired connectivity, and wireless connectivity applications.