Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIMX) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $10.57 and last traded at $10.61, with a volume of 955483 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Himax Technologies from $7.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Himax Technologies Stock Up 6.5 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $7.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.46. The stock has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.19 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $222.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.93 million. Himax Technologies had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 9.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.06 EPS.

Himax Technologies announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Himax Technologies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in Himax Technologies by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,665,858 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,162,000 after acquiring an additional 407,400 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Himax Technologies by 49.6% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 868,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,777,000 after buying an additional 288,000 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Himax Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,817,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Himax Technologies by 4.8% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 470,526 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,588,000 after purchasing an additional 21,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Himax Technologies by 324.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 296,210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,629,000 after purchasing an additional 226,386 shares in the last quarter. 69.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Himax Technologies

Himax Technologies, Inc, a fabless semiconductor company, provides display imaging processing technologies in China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, Europe, and the United States. The company operates in two segments, Driver IC and Non-Driver Products. It offers display driver integrated circuits (ICs) and timing controllers that are used in televisions, PC monitors, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, automotive, ePaper devices, industrial displays, and other products.