Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI)

Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 480,857 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 33% compared to the average daily volume of 361,494 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMCI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Super Micro Computer from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Super Micro Computer in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Super Micro Computer in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of Super Micro Computer in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price objective on Super Micro Computer from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Super Micro Computer has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.11.

Super Micro Computer Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SMCI opened at $53.17 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.95, a current ratio of 6.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $31.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.67 and a 200 day moving average of $38.85. Super Micro Computer has a 52 week low of $17.25 and a 52 week high of $90.40.

Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.01. Super Micro Computer had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Super Micro Computer will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Liang Chiu-Chu Sara Liu sold 300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $13,500,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 66,903,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,010,663,800. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles Liang sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $13,500,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 66,903,640 shares in the company, valued at $3,010,663,800. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 667,000 shares of company stock valued at $29,949,340 in the last quarter. 17.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Super Micro Computer

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Super Micro Computer by 46.0% during the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Super Micro Computer during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Super Micro Computer during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Super Micro Computer in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Super Micro Computer by 42.1% in the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 1,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 84.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Super Micro Computer

Super Micro Computer, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and manufactures high performance server and storage solutions based on modular and open architecture in the United States, Europe, Asia, and internationally. Its solutions range from complete server, storage systems, modular blade servers, blades, workstations, full racks, networking devices, server sub-systems, server management software, and security software.