FormFactor (NASDAQ:FORM) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

FormFactor, Inc. (NASDAQ:FORM) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday. The stock had previously closed at $71.76, but opened at $81.03. FormFactor shares last traded at $78.8980, with a volume of 194,907 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on FORM shares. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of FormFactor in a report on Monday, October 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of FormFactor in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Evercore set a $150.00 price target on FormFactor in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of FormFactor from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of FormFactor in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, FormFactor presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.73.

FormFactor Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 36.20 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s fifty day moving average is $114.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.65. The company has a current ratio of 3.68, a quick ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

FormFactor (NASDAQ:FORM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $280.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $270.52 million. FormFactor had a return on equity of 18.40% and a net margin of 17.72%. The company’s revenue was up 38.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that FormFactor, Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kelley Steven-Waiss sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.10, for a total transaction of $201,810.00. Following the sale, the director owned 24,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,347,338.60. This trade represents a 7.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mike Slessor sold 11,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.20, for a total transaction of $1,389,469.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 455,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,040,619.20. The trade was a 2.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 46,710 shares of company stock valued at $5,520,564 over the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FormFactor

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in FormFactor in the second quarter valued at about $285,257,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of FormFactor during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,047,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of FormFactor during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,940,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its stake in shares of FormFactor by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 659,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $98,495,000 after purchasing an additional 19,745 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of FormFactor in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,108,000. 98.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About FormFactor

FormFactor, Inc is a semiconductor test and measurement company that designs and manufactures equipment and components used to evaluate integrated circuits during the wafer fabrication and production process. Its products help semiconductor manufacturers and suppliers measure electrical performance, identify defects and improve the development and manufacturing of advanced chips.

The company’s portfolio includes probe cards used for wafer-level testing, as well as probe stations, analytical systems and related accessories for semiconductor engineering and production applications.