Soitec share falls 5% in a sharply declining trading session
After a spectacular rally since early September, Soitec is experiencing a setback this Wednesday and finds itself at the bottom of the SBF 120, in a Paris market also oriented downward. The decline occurs as two brokerage houses have just published diametrically opposed views on the security, reigniting debate over a valuation driven to extreme levels.
Two antagonistic analyst opinions fuel selling pressure
Bernstein raised its price target to €215 (versus €200 previously) on September 8, with an outperform rating, thereby betting on an upside potential of approximately 55% relative to the current price. Conversely, Jefferies published its own opinion on September 7 with an underperform view and a target raised to €98, representing a downside potential of nearly 30% from current levels. These two analyst opinions at opposite ends illustrate the polarization surrounding the security, following a surge of more than 325% over one year.
The question of valuation is at the heart of the debate: according to the consensus of tracked analysts, the security trades at approximately 49 times expected earnings for the following fiscal year, a multiple that leaves little room for disappointment. This context of tight valuation weighs all the more as the SBF 120 declines 1.82% during the session, in a market environment marked by rising long-term rates and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
A sharp decline that does not call into question the technical improvement of September
Despite the 5.02% fall to €139 during the session, the security remains firmly anchored above its moving averages. It is trading 16.27% above the 20-day MA at €119.55 and 24.53% above the 50-day MA at €111.62, two cushions that testify to the magnitude of the rebound accumulated since late August. On a weekly basis, the gain still reaches 25.73%, even after this correction, and on a monthly basis performance stands at 13.47%.
Today's decline nevertheless brings the RSI back to 70, in overbought territory, which signals a technically tense configuration after the nearly uninterrupted rise of recent weeks. The price is precisely hitting the former resistance level at €146.35, which corresponds to the previous day's close and which has served as a ceiling during the early September bullish sequence. It is this level at €146.35 that remains the key resistance for the rest of the session.
