Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Shares Down 8.8% – Here’s Why

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU)’s share price traded down 8.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $52.15 and last traded at $53.1150. Approximately 162,214 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 1,108,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Cohu from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cohu in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Cohu in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley Financial boosted their target price on Cohu from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Cohu in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.75.

Cohu Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of -64.55 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 4.72, a current ratio of 5.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $57.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.88.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $149.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.20 million. Cohu had a negative net margin of 7.43% and a negative return on equity of 1.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cohu

In other news, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 10,000 shares of Cohu stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.82, for a total transaction of $558,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 159,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,914,565.64. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Nina Richardson sold 3,055 shares of Cohu stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total transaction of $157,454.70. Following the sale, the director directly owned 39,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,853.22. This represents a 7.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 133,999 shares of company stock valued at $8,265,999 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Cohu by 147.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 528 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Cohu by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,366 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $570,000 after buying an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cohu by 148.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 1,777 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cohu by 150.0% during the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cohu during the second quarter valued at $269,000. 94.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cohu

Cohu, Inc provides semiconductor test and inspection equipment, consumables and related services used by semiconductor manufacturers and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test providers. Its solutions support the testing and handling of integrated circuits throughout the manufacturing process, helping customers evaluate device performance, reliability and quality.

The company’s product portfolio includes semiconductor test handlers, inspection and metrology systems, thermal-management equipment, test contactors and other interface products.