Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $57.08, but opened at $52.23. Cohu shares last traded at $53.49, with a volume of 59,426 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on COHU shares. Zacks Research lowered Cohu from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Cohu in a report on Friday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Cohu from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on Cohu from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Cohu from $54.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cohu has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.75.

Cohu Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -60.20 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.74 and a quick ratio of 4.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $51.98 and a 200 day moving average of $47.61.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cohu 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 159,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,914,565.64. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total transaction of $157,454.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 39,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,853.22. The trade was a 7.25% 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. Insiders sold 29,307 shares of company stock worth $1,566,693 in 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 added to or reduced their stakes in COHU. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cohu in the second quarter worth $1,224,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Cohu during the 2nd quarter valued at $244,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in Cohu in the 2nd quarter worth $1,839,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Cohu in the 2nd quarter worth $143,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cohu in the second quarter valued at about $1,665,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.67% of the company’s stock.

About Cohu

Cohu, Inc is a semiconductor test and inspection equipment company that develops products used throughout the semiconductor manufacturing process. Its portfolio includes semiconductor test handlers, test contactors, inspection and metrology systems, thermal-management solutions, and software for managing and analyzing test data.

The company’s equipment helps semiconductor manufacturers and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test providers handle, connect, test, inspect, and characterize packaged semiconductor devices.