Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Sees Surge in Options Trading

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM - Get Free Report) experienced an unexpected surge in options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 218,872 call options for the company, indicating a significant rise of approximately 65% from the average daily volume of 133,014 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Predict Growth

Several equity analysts have been closely monitoring TSM shares. On October 18th, Susquehanna reaffirmed a "buy" rating on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research note. Needham & Company LLC also reiterated a "buy" recommendation, setting a target price of $210.00 on October 17th. Meanwhile, Barclays raised its price target from $215.00 to $240.00 and assigned an "overweight" rating on November 18th. However, StockNews.com downgraded Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a "buy" to a "hold" rating on November 17th. Currently, data from MarketBeat.com shows that two analysts have a hold rating while four have a buy rating for the company, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.00.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Price Trends

On Tuesday, NYSE:TSM saw a price increase of $4.49, reaching $198.89 during midday trading. The trading volume was 10,751,002 shares, lower than its average volume of 15,250,080. The 50-day simple moving average stands at $189.16, while the 200-day moving average is reported at $175.32. The company displays a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.30, and a current ratio of 2.57. Over the past year, the stock has seen a low of $95.25 and a high of $212.60, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing currently boasts a market cap of $1.03 trillion along with a PE ratio of 31.86 and a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90.

Recent Earnings Announcement

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing recently released its earnings results on October 17th. The company reported earnings of $1.94 per share (EPS) for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.74 by $0.20. The firm achieved revenue of $23.50 billion for the quarter, surpassing estimates of $22.72 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's net margin is 39.10%, and it has a return on equity of 27.44%. Analysts project that the company will post an EPS of 6.95 for the ongoing year.

Dividend Increase Announcement

Additionally, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has recently declared a quarterly dividend to be paid on April 10th. Shareholders on record as of March 18th will receive a dividend of $0.5484, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.49. This translates to an annualized dividend of $2.19 and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is also set for March 18th, with a dividend payout ratio (DPR) of 31.57%.

Institutional Trading Activity

A number of hedge funds and institutional investors have made significant changes to their positions in TSM stock. In the second quarter, PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings by 116.3%, now owning 7,784,316 shares totaling $1,352,992,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186,133 shares. FMR LLC also raised their stake by 7.2% during the third quarter, with a total of 55,974,769 shares valued at $9,721,138,000 following a 3,783,802 share purchase. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings by a staggering 669.7% in the second quarter, amassing 3,721,489 shares worth $646,832,000 after increasing shares by 3,237,998. Another notable increase came from 1832 Asset Management L.P., which raised its holdings by 1,226.7% in the same quarter, now holding 1,983,830 shares valued at $344,809,000. UBS Asset Management Americas LLC also increased its investments by 799.2% in the third quarter, acquiring 1,899,088 shares totaling $329,815,000. Overall, institutional investors hold 16.51% of the stock.

About Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, along with its subsidiaries, is involved in the manufacturing, packaging, testing, and selling of integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices. The company serves markets in Taiwan, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, the United States, and globally while providing a range of wafer fabrication processes for various semiconductor applications.

Taiwan, Options, Trading