Cree (CREE) – Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Changes

Cree (NASDAQ: CREE) recently received a number of ratings updates from brokerages and research firms:

12/31/2019 – Cree was downgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating.
12/21/2019 – Cree was upgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating.
12/21/2019 – Cree was downgraded by analysts at from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating.
12/19/2019 – Cree was upgraded by analysts at from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating. They now have a $51.00 price target on the stock. According to Zacks, “Cree is benefiting from the buyout of Infineon Technologies’ RF Power Division that expanded Wolfspeed portfolio with robust power and RF GaN-on-SiC power solutions. The company’s cost cutting measures and recovery in utilization rates remain tailwinds. Further, it’s cross licensing agreements are anticipated to bolster adoption and drive the top line. Moreover, solid demand for IoT is expected to drive the company's performance in the industrial market. However, downside in LED Products revenues offset growth in Wolfspeed vertical. The effect of export restrictions on Huawei due to the U.S.-China trade dispute remains a headwind. Further, weaker-than-expected demand for the company’s LED products is an overhang. Notably, shares of the company have underperformed the industry in the past year.”
11/30/2019 – Cree was downgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating.
11/21/2019 – Cree had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Canaccord Genuity. They now have a $57.00 price target on the stock.
11/20/2019 – Cree was upgraded by analysts at from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating.
11/18/2019 – Cree was downgraded by analysts at from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating. They now have a $53.00 price target on the stock. According to Zacks, “Cree reported stellar Q1 results. However, the top and the bottom line declined year over year. Downside in LED Products revenues weighed on revenues. Further, Cree provided bleak guidance for fiscal second quarter. The effect of export restrictions on Huawei due to the U.S.-China trade dispute remains a headwind. Also, weaker-than-expected demand for the company’s Wolfspeed products dented the outlook. However, Cree is benefiting from the buyout of Infineon Technologies’ RF Power Division that expanded Wolfspeed portfolio with robust power and RF GaN-on-SiC power solutions. The company’s cost cutting measures and recovery in utilization rates remain tailwinds. Also, cross licensing agreements are expected to bolster adoption and drive the top line. Notably, shares of the company have outperformed the industry in the past year.”

CREE stock opened at $46.84 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $45.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.71. The company has a current ratio of 5.57, a quick ratio of 4.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 130.11 and a beta of 0.86. Cree, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.46 and a 1-year high of $69.21.

Cree (NASDAQ:CREE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The LED producer reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.02. Cree had a negative return on equity of 0.20% and a negative net margin of 34.02%. The firm had revenue of $242.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.48 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Cree, Inc. will post -0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

In other news, Director Duy Loan T. Le purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $45.87 per share, with a total value of $91,740.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 13,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $626,538.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at . Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Winslow Evans & Crocker Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cree by 169.9% in the 3rd quarter. Winslow Evans & Crocker Inc. now owns 556 shares of the LED producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Cree in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Evoke Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cree in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Cree by 2,777.8% in the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 777 shares of the LED producer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantamental Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Cree by 41.1% in the second quarter. Quantamental Technologies LLC now owns 1,254 shares of the LED producer’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. 97.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cree, Inc provides lighting-class light emitting diode (LED), lighting, and semiconductor products for power and radio-frequency (RF) applications in the United States, China, Europe, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Wolfspeed, LED Products, and Lighting Products.