KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 3): Unisem (M) Bhd rose as much as 4.61% or 25 sen to a record high level of RM5.67.

At 10.30am, the counter had pared some gains at RM5.50, still up eight sen or 1.48%. The counter saw 694,600 shares change hands.

Its share price has exceeded the target prices (TPs) of most analysts covering the stock, except for MIDF Research which pegged the stock at RM5.86 since the company showed a strong earnings recovery in its results for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2020 (3QFY20).

Earlier on Oct 26, MIDF upgraded Unisem to "buy" from "hold", and raised its TP to RM5.86 from RM3.10.

The research house also revised upwards its FY20-22 earnings estimates for Unisem to RM135.4 million-RM204.7 million due to higher revenue assumptions for all of its market segments, with the exception of the automotive segment, which in turn led to healthier profit margins.

CGS-CIMB Research, which reiterated its "add" call with a higher TP of RM5.50 (previously RM4.25) for Unisem, also raised its FY20-22 earnings per share (EPS) forecasts by 17%-24% to account for higher utilisation and new capacity expansion.

“Unisem is entering a multi-year growth phase driven by strategic portfolio expansion for radio frequency, power management and sensor products,” it said.

Meanwhile, Affin Hwang Capital, Kenanga Research, Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research and KAF Research, also with "buy" calls for the stock, have TPs ranging between RM4.25 and RM5.21.