Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIMX) Short Interest Update

Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIMX) saw a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,760,000 shares, a drop of 12.2% from the December 15th total of 6,560,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,520,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Trading of Himax Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC raised its position in Himax Technologies by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 169,330 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,361,000 after buying an additional 3,900 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Himax Technologies by 47.6% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 38,510 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 12,418 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Himax Technologies by 90.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 4,888 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Himax Technologies by 33.9% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,431 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 4,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Himax Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $98,000. 69.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Himax Technologies Stock Up 0.9 %

HIMX stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.85. 2,204,677 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,914,119. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.64. Himax Technologies has a 1-year low of $4.80 and a 1-year high of $9.80. The company has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11 and a beta of 1.94. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.45.

Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $222.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $205.93 million. Himax Technologies had a return on equity of 9.06% and a net margin of 8.77%. The business’s revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.06 EPS.

Himax Technologies declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.