Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Shares Up 7% – What’s Next?

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU)’s share price shot up 7% on Friday . The company traded as high as $48.42 and last traded at $49.1780. Approximately 68,114 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 1,114,309 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cohu in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Cohu in a report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Cohu from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Cohu in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cohu currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.75.

Cohu Stock Up 8.1%

The company has a current ratio of 5.74, a quick ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -59.82 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $53.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.35.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $149.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.02 earnings per share. Cohu’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity 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 stock was sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total value of $157,454.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 39,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.82, for a total value of $558,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 159,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,914,565.64. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,307 shares of company stock worth $1,630,573. 3.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cohu

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Cohu during the first quarter worth approximately $705,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Cohu by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,361,164 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $101,484,000 after acquiring an additional 57,618 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its stake in Cohu by 349.3% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 302,838 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $7,047,000 after acquiring an additional 235,438 shares during the last quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA boosted its stake in Cohu by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 646,133 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $19,785,000 after acquiring an additional 24,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Cohu during the 1st quarter worth $634,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.67% of the company’s stock.

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.