Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Trading Up 9.1% – Time to Buy?

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) shares were up 9.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $59.45 and last traded at $57.64. 1,460,426 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 29% from the average session volume of 1,134,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.82.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Cohu in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Cohu in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Cohu from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cohu in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of Cohu in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cohu currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $68.75.

Cohu Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $56.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.66. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of -68.98 and a beta of 1.59.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.88, for a total transaction of $63,880.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 171,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,968,323.76. The trade was a 0.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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, Director James A. Donahue sold 10,257 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.77, for a total value of $479,719.89. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,343.06. This represents a 74.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 98,975 shares of company stock valued at $4,711,139 over the last quarter. 3.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cohu

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Cohu by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 16,231 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Cohu by 3.0% during the first quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 14,644 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Cohu by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,847 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 452 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of Cohu by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 65,233 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,255,000 after buying an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.67% of the company’s stock.

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.