Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ:SLAB) Rating Increased to Buy at Benchmark

Benchmark upgraded shares of Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ:SLAB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Benchmark currently has $160.00 price objective on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on SLAB. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Silicon Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Silicon Laboratories to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Silicon Laboratories from $123.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Silicon Laboratories from $75.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Silicon Laboratories from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.20.

Silicon Laboratories Stock Up 9.1 %

SLAB stock opened at $149.06 on Wednesday. Silicon Laboratories has a 12 month low of $94.00 and a 12 month high of $154.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $128.35 and its 200 day moving average is $116.74.

Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ:SLAB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11). The business had revenue of $166.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.09 million. Silicon Laboratories had a negative net margin of 46.93% and a negative return on equity of 12.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.19) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Silicon Laboratories will post -3.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Silicon Laboratories

In related news, Director William G. Bock sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.77, for a total transaction of $281,540.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,520,828.55. This represents a 5.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Silicon Laboratories

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SLAB. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Silicon Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $229,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Silicon Laboratories by 41.0% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 9,637 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,114,000 after buying an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Silicon Laboratories by 84.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 497 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Silicon Laboratories by 21.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,270 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after buying an additional 1,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Silicon Laboratories by 12.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $414,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter.

About Silicon Laboratories

Silicon Laboratories Inc, a fabless semiconductor company, provides various analog-intensive mixed-signal solutions in the United States, China, Taiwan, and internationally. The company's products include wireless microcontrollers and sensor products. Its products are used in various electronic products in a range of applications for the industrial Internet of Things (IoT), including industrial automation and control, smart buildings, access control, HVAC control, and industrial wearables and power tools; smart cities applications, such as smart metering, smart street lighting, renewable energy, electric vehicle supply equipment, and smart agriculture; commercial IoT applications, including smart lighting, asset tracking, electronic shelf labels, theft protection, and enterprise access points; smart home applications, comprising home automation/security systems, smart speakers, smart lighting, HVAC control, smart cameras, smart appliances, smart home sensing, smart locks, and window/blind controls; and connected health applications, including diabetes management, consumer health and fitness, elderly care, patient monitoring, and activity tracking; as well as in commercial building automation, consumer electronics, and medical instrumentation.