Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $52.51, but opened at $55.51. Cohu shares last traded at $56.2710, with a volume of 104,660 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on COHU shares. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cohu in a report on Monday, April 20th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on 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 target price on Cohu and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen increased their target price on Cohu from $35.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Cohu from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.00.

Cohu Stock Down 1.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 5.31, a current ratio of 6.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.13 and a beta of 1.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $44.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.33.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $125.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.14 million. Cohu had a negative return on equity of 3.50% and a negative net margin of 11.54%.Cohu’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.02) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Cohu

In related news, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 1,000 shares of Cohu stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.92, for a total value of $46,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 172,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,103,177.84. This trade represents a 0.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Also, CFO Jeffrey D. Jones sold 13,000 shares of Cohu stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total value of $608,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 343,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,103,217.28. The trade was a 3.64% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 90,668 shares of company stock valued at $4,212,706. 3.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cohu

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Cohu by 45.4% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,564 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new position in Cohu in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Cohu by 83.7% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,569 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 452 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Cohu in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 94.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.