United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Share Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $8.38 and traded as high as $9.31. United Microelectronics shares last traded at $9.2550, with a volume of 6,551,957 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UMC has been the subject of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded United Microelectronics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of United Microelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $23.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $10.03 and a 200-day moving average of $8.38.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 17.60% and a return on equity of 11.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Microelectronics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in United Microelectronics by 873.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,464,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $74,389,000 after acquiring an additional 8,492,466 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 832.5% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 3,530,564 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,762,000 after purchasing an additional 3,151,936 shares in the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in United Microelectronics during the second quarter valued at approximately $24,024,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in United Microelectronics by 50.7% during the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 8,403,064 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $64,283,000 after buying an additional 2,826,486 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in United Microelectronics in the third quarter worth approximately $21,235,000. Institutional investors own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

About United Microelectronics

United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) is a Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry that provides wafer fabrication and related manufacturing services to a global customer base. Founded in 1980, the company operates as a pure-play foundry, producing integrated circuits for a range of customers including fabless semiconductor companies and integrated device manufacturers. UMC is publicly listed (NYSE: UMC) and focuses on high-reliability manufacturing rather than branding consumer products.

UMC’s core services encompass wafer fabrication using a portfolio of process technologies, with particular emphasis on mature and specialty nodes that support analog, power-management, radio-frequency (RF), and mixed-signal applications.