Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX) Shares Up 5.1% – Should You Buy?

Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIMX)’s stock price shot up 5.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $8.85 and last traded at $9.00. 294,154 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 1,667,957 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HIMX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Himax Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Himax Technologies from $7.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th.

Himax Technologies Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80 and a beta of 2.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The business’s 50 day moving average is $9.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.42.

Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Himax Technologies had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 9.09%. The company had revenue of $237.22 million during the quarter.

Himax Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Himax Technologies by 346.1% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,874,811 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $31,153,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006,311 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Himax Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $18,431,000. Soviero Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Himax Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $4,020,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Himax Technologies by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,909,036 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $15,349,000 after acquiring an additional 243,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Himax Technologies by 324.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 296,210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,629,000 after acquiring an additional 226,386 shares during the period. 69.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Himax Technologies

Himax Technologies, Inc, a fabless semiconductor company, provides display imaging processing technologies in China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, Europe, and the United States. The company operates in two segments, Driver IC and Non-Driver Products. It offers display driver integrated circuits (ICs) and timing controllers that are used in televisions, PC monitors, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, automotive, ePaper devices, industrial displays, and other products.