Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT) Cut to “Market Perform” at Northland Securities

Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT) was downgraded by analysts at Northland Securities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report released on Wednesday. They currently have a $150.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock. Northland Securities’ target price points to a potential downside of 7.76% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Camtek in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $141.00 price objective on shares of Camtek in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Camtek in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Camtek from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Camtek in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Camtek has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.00.

Camtek Price Performance

NASDAQ:CAMT traded up $5.63 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $162.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 498,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 558,461. Camtek has a twelve month low of $47.41 and a twelve month high of $170.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 7.58 and a quick ratio of 6.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.35. The company has a market capitalization of $7.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 180.63, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.57.

Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The semiconductor company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.02). Camtek had a return on equity of 23.82% and a net margin of 9.86%.The business had revenue of $128.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Camtek will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Camtek

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAMT. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Camtek by 202.0% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 299 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Camtek during the third quarter worth $32,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Camtek by 61.6% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Camtek during the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Camtek during the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. 41.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Camtek

Camtek Ltd. (NASDAQ: CAMT) is a provider of automated inspection and metrology solutions for the semiconductor and printed circuit board (PCB) industries. The company develops, manufactures and markets a suite of inline and stand-alone systems that perform high‐resolution 2D and 3D measurements, defect review and process control. Its products are used by integrated device manufacturers, foundries, OSAT (outsourced semiconductor assembly and test) providers, and PCB fabricators to optimize yield, improve product quality and reduce production costs.

Camtek’s core offerings include wafer inspection systems that detect and classify defects on patterned wafers, patterned wafer metrology tools for overlay and critical dimension measurements, and advanced packaging inspection platforms for 3D ICs and fan-out wafer-level packaging.