Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Cohu from “hold” to “buy.” Analysts overall rate the stock “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $74.38.
• Cohu beat quarterly estimates, reporting earnings of $0.43 per share versus $0.35 expected and revenue of $172.96 million versus $170.25 million expected. Revenue rose 37% year over year.
• Company insiders sold 116,692 shares worth about $7.37 million over the past 90 days; the reported sales were made to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Craig Hallum reissued a "buy" rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Cohu in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Cohu in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cohu in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Cohu in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Cohu from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.38.

Cohu Price Performance

COHU opened at $38.49 on Friday. Cohu has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $75.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $56.11 and a 200 day moving average of $47.31. The firm has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -74.02 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 4.24 and a current ratio of 5.16.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.08. Cohu had a positive return on equity of 1.47% and a negative net margin of 3.97%. The business had revenue of $172.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.06) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 37.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Cohu will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cohu

In related news, CEO Luis Muller sold 55,794 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $3,347,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 871,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $52,309,500. This represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.82, for a total value of $558,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 159,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,914,565.64. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 116,692 shares of company stock worth $7,374,716 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.05% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cohu

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COHU. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in Cohu during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cohu by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Cohu by 147.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 528 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Cohu in the second quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in Cohu during the second quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 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 equipment and related services. The company supplies solutions used by semiconductor manufacturers and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test providers to evaluate devices during production, helping improve manufacturing quality, reliability and efficiency.

Cohu's product portfolio includes semiconductor test handlers, contactors and other interface products, inspection and metrology systems, thermal-management equipment, and software for test-data analysis and factory automation.

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