Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Stock Price Up 12.6% – Should You Buy?

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU)’s stock price rose 12.6% during trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $43.25 and last traded at $43.3350. Approximately 189,178 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 1,138,555 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on COHU shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Cohu from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $83.00 price target on Cohu in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Cohu from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Cohu in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, B. Riley Financial reduced their target price on shares of Cohu from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.50.

Cohu Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 5.16, a quick ratio of 4.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $56.11 and its 200 day moving average is $47.31. The company has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of -82.50 and a beta of 1.60.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.08. Cohu had a negative net margin of 3.97% and a positive return on equity of 1.47%. The business had revenue of $172.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.06) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christopher Bohrson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.31, for a total value of $55,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 157,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,722,497.62. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total transaction of $1,581,326.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 822,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 ninety days. Insiders own 3.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Cohu in the second quarter valued at approximately $17,744,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Cohu during the second quarter worth $7,802,000. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY acquired a new position in Cohu during the second quarter worth $42,794,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in Cohu in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,839,000. Finally, Nicholas Investment Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Cohu in the 2nd quarter worth $8,013,000. 94.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.