Robert W. Baird Upgrades Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) to Strong-Buy

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) was upgraded by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on COHU. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cohu in a report on Monday, April 20th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Cohu from $33.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Cohu and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Cohu from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cohu from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cohu currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.14.

Cohu Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COHU opened at $55.14 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $55.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 6.43 and a quick ratio of 5.31. Cohu has a 1-year low of $17.80 and a 1-year high of $74.60. The company has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -46.34 and a beta of 1.55.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $125.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.02) EPS. Cohu’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Cohu will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cohu

In related news, Director Steven J. Bilodeau sold 10,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.85, for a total value of $460,026.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 52,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,399.20. The trade was a 16.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey D. Jones sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total transaction of $608,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 343,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,103,217.28. This represents a 3.64% decrease in their position. 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 90,668 shares of company stock worth $4,248,016. 3.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cohu

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its stake in Cohu by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 16,231 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its stake in Cohu by 3.0% in the first quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 14,644 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Cohu by 4.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,847 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cohu by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of Cohu by 0.9% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 65,233 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,255,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the period. 94.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cohu Company Profile

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.