BNP Paribas Financial Markets Buys 109,645 Shares of SiTime Corporation $SITM

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in SiTime Corporation (NASDAQ:SITM) by 1,958.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 115,243 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 109,645 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in SiTime were worth $40,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SITM. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of SiTime by 12.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of SiTime by 33.6% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of SiTime by 310.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,557,000 after acquiring an additional 8,136 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of SiTime by 21.6% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in shares of SiTime in the second quarter worth approximately $240,000. 84.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SiTime Trading Up 1.7%

SITM opened at $712.75 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $18.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -705.69 and a beta of 2.94. The company’s 50 day moving average is $570.24 and its 200 day moving average is $432.38. SiTime Corporation has a 12-month low of $186.49 and a 12-month high of $901.81.

SiTime (NASDAQ:SITM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $113.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.51 million. SiTime had a negative net margin of 6.38% and a positive return on equity of 0.53%. The firm’s revenue was up 88.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that SiTime Corporation will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at SiTime

In related news, insider Fariborz Assaderaghi sold 1,709 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $731.49, for a total value of $1,250,116.41. Following the transaction, the insider owned 81,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,569,619.64. This trade represents a 2.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Akira Takata sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $860.86, for a total transaction of $1,291,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,531,761.24. The trade was a 10.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,334 shares of company stock worth $6,290,953. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of SiTime in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of SiTime in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SiTime from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of SiTime from $450.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of SiTime from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SiTime has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $661.88.

About SiTime

SiTime Corporation is a fabless semiconductor company specializing in silicon timing solutions that leverage micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology as an alternative to traditional quartz crystals. Its portfolio of programmable oscillators, resonators, clock generators, jitter attenuators and network synchronizers addresses precision timekeeping requirements across a wide range of electronic systems. By integrating MEMS resonators with advanced mixed-signal control circuitry, SiTime’s products offer enhanced reliability, resistance to shock and vibration, and a smaller footprint compared with conventional quartz devices.

The company’s timing devices serve diverse end markets, including telecommunications infrastructure, data center and enterprise networking, consumer electronics, automotive systems, industrial automation, and aerospace and defense applications.