Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Short Interest Update

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,296,922 shares, a drop of 14.1% from the January 15th total of 1,510,589 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 567,133 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Based on an average trading volume of 567,133 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of KLIC traded down $1.97 on Wednesday, hitting $69.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 245,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 881,524. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $55.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.34. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a fifty-two week low of $26.63 and a fifty-two week high of $77.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -57.76 and a beta of 1.67.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.11. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative net margin of 9.40% and a negative return on equity of 1.13%. The company had revenue of $199.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.600-0.740 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 18th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently -67.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on KLIC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. B. Riley Financial restated a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 target price (up from $35.00) on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kulicke and Soffa Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.50.

Insider Transactions at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, General Counsel Zi Yao Lim sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.54, for a total transaction of $71,540.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 22,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,624,959.56. This represents a 4.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 7,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.28, for a total transaction of $520,141.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 22,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,684,487.36. This trade represents a 23.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 103,245 shares of company stock valued at $6,400,049 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KLIC. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 541.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 665,295 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,038,000 after acquiring an additional 561,571 shares during the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH bought a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the third quarter worth $17,532,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 21.1% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,348,020 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $81,241,000 after purchasing an additional 409,116 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,313,378 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $80,043,000 after purchasing an additional 392,691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 549.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 321,313 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $11,117,000 after purchasing an additional 271,868 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Kulicke & Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) is a global supplier of semiconductor and LED assembly equipment. The company specializes in the design, development and manufacture of advanced die bonding, wire bonding, flip-chip bumping and wafer-level packaging systems. Its solutions support a wide range of applications in consumer electronics, automotive, communications and other high-growth segments within the semiconductor and LED industries.

Key products include precision wire bonders for microelectronic packaging, die attach systems for chip placement, flip-chip bonders for advanced packaging architectures and LED packaging platforms that enable high-volume production of automotive and general-illumination LEDs.