B. Riley Financial Has Lowered Expectations for Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Stock Price

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at B. Riley Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. B. Riley Financial‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 43.94% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Cohu from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Craig Hallum reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Cohu in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Cohu in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Cohu in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Cohu in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cohu presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.50.

Cohu Stock Performance

Shares of COHU opened at $41.68 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of -80.05 and a beta of 1.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $56.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 5.16 and a quick ratio of 4.24. Cohu has a 1 year low of $21.10 and a 1 year high of $75.72.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $172.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.25 million. Cohu had a positive return on equity of 1.47% and a negative net margin of 3.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 37.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.06) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cohu will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cohu

In related news, insider Christopher Bohrson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.31, for a total transaction of $55,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 157,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,722,497.62. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Luis A. Muller sold 21,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total transaction of $1,581,326.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 822,927 shares in the company, valued at $60,073,671. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 116,692 shares of company stock valued at $7,374,716 in the last three months. 3.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cohu

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of COHU. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Cohu during the 2nd quarter valued at $545,932,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Cohu in the 2nd quarter worth $77,814,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its holdings in Cohu by 125.5% in the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 955,344 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,253,000 after acquiring an additional 531,661 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Cohu in the 1st quarter worth $23,887,000. Finally, Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of Cohu in the second quarter valued at about $42,794,000. 94.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cohu

Cohu, Inc designs and manufactures equipment and components used to test, inspect, and handle semiconductors. Its products include semiconductor test handlers, inspection systems, test contactors, and thermal subsystems that support testing at various stages of chip production.

The company serves semiconductor manufacturers and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test providers around the world. Its equipment is used across a range of semiconductor applications, including devices for automotive, industrial, communications, and consumer markets.

Founded in 1947, Cohu has expanded its semiconductor equipment business through organic development and acquisitions.