Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) shares gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $57.08, but opened at $52.23. Cohu shares last traded at $53.49, with a volume of 59,426 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on COHU shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Cohu from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Craig Hallum restated a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Cohu in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cohu in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of Cohu in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Cohu from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cohu has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.75.

Cohu Stock Down 8.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 4.72, a current ratio of 5.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -63.07 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $52.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.34.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $149.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.20 million. Cohu had a negative net margin of 7.43% and a negative return on equity of 1.96%. Cohu’s revenue was up 38.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Cohu

In other news, Director Nina Richardson sold 3,055 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total transaction of $157,454.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 39,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,853.22. This represents a 7.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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, Director Andrew Caggia sold 15,252 shares of Cohu stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.74, for a total value of $789,138.48. Following the sale, the director directly owned 64,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,351,613.72. This trade represents a 19.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,307 shares of company stock worth $1,566,693. 3.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cohu

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COHU. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Cohu during the second quarter worth $545,932,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Cohu by 7,111.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,239,478 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $313,340,000 after acquiring an additional 4,180,686 shares during the period. SG Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Cohu in the fourth quarter worth about $33,174,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Cohu during the second quarter worth about $77,814,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Cohu by 478.4% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,175,282 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $22,612,000 after purchasing an additional 972,088 shares in the last quarter. 94.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Cohu

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.