Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Stock Jumps 5.5% – Here’s What Happened

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU)’s stock price rose 5.5% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $67.11 and last traded at $67.1750. 541,999 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 1,111,276 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COHU has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Cohu in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target 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. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of Cohu from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Craig Hallum restated a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Cohu in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cohu in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One research 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.75.

Cohu Trading Up 5.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 4.72 and a current ratio of 5.74. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of -80.40 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $52.75 and a 200 day moving average of $49.08.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $144.20 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.02 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 38.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrew Caggia sold 15,252 shares of Cohu stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.74, for a total transaction of $789,138.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 64,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,351,613.72. The trade was a 19.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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. Also, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.82, for a total value of $558,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 159,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,914,565.64. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 85,101 shares of company stock worth $4,914,333. 3.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cohu

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COHU. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Cohu in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $545,932,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in Cohu during the second quarter valued at $77,814,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its holdings in Cohu by 125.5% in the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 955,344 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,253,000 after buying an additional 531,661 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cohu during the first quarter worth approximately $23,887,000. Finally, Leeward Investments LLC MA grew its holdings in shares of Cohu by 4.0% during the first quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 646,133 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $19,785,000 after buying an additional 24,755 shares in the last quarter. 94.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cohu Company Profile

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.