Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Trading Down 8.8% – Should You Sell?

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) shares were down 8.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $63.67 and last traded at $63.0070. Approximately 184,795 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 1,129,709 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.11.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on COHU. Jefferies Financial Group set a $60.00 price target on Cohu and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Cohu from $33.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Cohu in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cohu in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cohu in a research note 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.33.

Cohu Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 6.43 and a quick ratio of 5.31. The firm has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.81 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.60.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.02). Cohu had a negative net margin of 11.54% and a negative return on equity of 3.50%. The firm had revenue of $125.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $122.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.02) EPS. Cohu’s quarterly revenue was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William Bendush sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.14, for a total value of $368,550.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,217,689.20. The trade was a 23.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director James A. Donahue sold 10,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.77, for a total transaction of $479,719.89. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,343.06. This trade represents a 74.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 90,668 shares of company stock valued at $4,248,016. 3.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of COHU. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in shares of Cohu during the 3rd quarter worth $243,960,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Cohu by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,361,164 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $101,484,000 after buying an additional 57,618 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in Cohu by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,918,424 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,642,000 after buying an additional 7,927 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Cohu by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,819,530 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $42,340,000 after buying an additional 5,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cohu during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,174,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.67% of the company’s stock.

About Cohu

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.