Needham & Company LLC Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) Stock

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) had its price target upped by analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $66.00 to $77.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 24.45% from the stock’s current price.

MCHP has been the subject of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $68.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.58.

Microchip Technology Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MCHP opened at $61.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $33.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -181.97, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.55. Microchip Technology has a 52 week low of $34.13 and a 52 week high of $82.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $69.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.10.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. Microchip Technology had a negative net margin of 3.50% and a positive return on equity of 6.33%. The firm’s revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Microchip Technology will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microchip Technology

In other news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 2,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.78, for a total transaction of $112,396.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,979.14. The trade was a 5.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Karlton D. Johnson sold 494 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.69, for a total transaction of $29,980.86. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $210,472.92. This represents a 12.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microchip Technology

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Microchip Technology during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microchip Technology by 211.2% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 473 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microchip Technology in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Microchip Technology in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Painted Porch Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Microchip Technology in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. 91.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Microchip Technology

Microchip Technology Incorporated engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of smart, connected, and secure embedded control solutions in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company offers general purpose 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit mixed-signal microcontrollers; 32-bit embedded mixed-signal microprocessors; and specialized microcontrollers for automotive, industrial, computing, communications, lighting, power supplies, motor control, human machine interface, security, wired connectivity, and wireless connectivity applications.