United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $18.90, but opened at $19.86. United Microelectronics shares last traded at $20.4320, with a volume of 1,840,401 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane restated an “underperform” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $50.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.98, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $14.95 and its 200-day moving average is $11.18.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.08. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 13.67%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of United Microelectronics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UMC. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 873.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,464,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $74,389,000 after buying an additional 8,492,466 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 832.5% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 3,530,564 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,762,000 after buying an additional 3,151,936 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 50.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 8,403,064 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $64,283,000 after buying an additional 2,826,486 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $21,235,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 2,011.2% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,980,820 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $15,569,000 after buying an additional 1,886,996 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

About United Microelectronics

United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) is a Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry that provides wafer fabrication and related manufacturing services to a global customer base. Founded in 1980, the company operates as a pure-play foundry, producing integrated circuits for a range of customers including fabless semiconductor companies and integrated device manufacturers. UMC is publicly listed (NYSE: UMC) and focuses on high-reliability manufacturing rather than branding consumer products.

UMC’s core services encompass wafer fabrication using a portfolio of process technologies, with particular emphasis on mature and specialty nodes that support analog, power-management, radio-frequency (RF), and mixed-signal applications.