Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $42.56 and last traded at $43.20, with a volume of 95355 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on COHU shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Cohu from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Cohu from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Evercore started coverage on shares of Cohu in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cohu in a research report on Monday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Cohu from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.00.

Cohu Stock Up 5.5%

The firm has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.37 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $31.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 5.69 and a current ratio of 6.88.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.22). Cohu had a negative return on equity of 3.76% and a negative net margin of 16.40%.The firm had revenue of $122.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.09 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.15) EPS. Cohu’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cohu, Inc. will post -0.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $38,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 175,202 shares in the company, valued at $6,657,676. This trade represents a 0.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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. 3.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Cohu by 31.4% during the 3rd quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 192,846 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,921,000 after buying an additional 46,113 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Cohu by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 195,536 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,550,000 after buying an additional 42,593 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cohu by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 248,146 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,045,000 after buying an additional 42,819 shares in the last quarter. Dean Capital Management lifted its holdings in Cohu by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 127,324 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,588,000 after purchasing an additional 37,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First National Bank of Omaha purchased a new position in Cohu in the 3rd quarter valued at $484,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.