Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Shares Up 8.3% – Still a Buy?

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU)’s share price was up 8.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $67.81 and last traded at $69.3820. Approximately 159,300 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 1,089,691 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on COHU shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Cohu from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Cohu in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cohu from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Cohu from $33.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cohu in a report on Monday, April 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Cohu Trading Up 5.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of -56.72 and a beta of 1.62. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.61. The company has a quick ratio of 5.31, a current ratio of 6.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $125.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $122.14 million. Cohu had a negative net margin of 11.54% and a negative return on equity of 3.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.02) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cohu

In other Cohu news, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.92, for a total transaction of $46,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 172,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,103,177.84. This represents a 0.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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, CFO Jeffrey D. Jones sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total transaction of $608,920.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 343,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,103,217.28. The trade was a 3.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 89,668 shares of company stock valued at $4,184,136. 3.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cohu

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COHU. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cohu by 45.4% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,564 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Cohu during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cohu by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cohu in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cohu in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 94.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cohu Company Profile

Cohu, Inc is a global provider of semiconductor test and inspection solutions, offering a broad portfolio of products designed to support chip manufacturers, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) providers, and electronics original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The company’s product lineup includes automatic test handlers, wafer probers, test sockets, thermal subassembly systems and burn-in boards, all engineered to optimize throughput, accuracy and reliability in semiconductor production and final test.

Founded in 1947 and headquartered in Poway, California, Cohu has grown through both organic development and targeted acquisitions to become a recognized leader in test handling and interconnect technologies.