Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) CEO Sells $1,581,326.00 in Stock

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) CEO Luis Muller sold 21,662 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total transaction of $1,581,326.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 822,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,073,671. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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.

Cohu Price Performance

COHU stock opened at $70.78 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $56.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.69. Cohu, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.67 and a 12-month high of $75.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -85.28 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 5.74, a quick ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on COHU. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cohu in a report on Friday, July 17th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Cohu from $54.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on Cohu from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research lowered Cohu from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Cohu in a 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 given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.75.

Institutional Trading of Cohu

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cohu during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $545,932,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Cohu in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $77,814,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its position in shares of Cohu by 125.5% during the first quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 955,344 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,253,000 after purchasing an additional 531,661 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cohu during the first quarter valued at approximately $23,887,000. Finally, Leeward Investments LLC MA boosted its position 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 valued at $19,785,000 after purchasing 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 provides semiconductor test and inspection equipment, consumables and related services used by semiconductor manufacturers and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test providers. Its solutions support the testing and handling of integrated circuits throughout the manufacturing process, helping customers evaluate device performance, reliability and quality.

The company’s product portfolio includes semiconductor test handlers, inspection and metrology systems, thermal-management equipment, test contactors and other interface products.