Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Seven brokerages give Cohu a consensus rating of Hold, with five analysts rating it Buy and two Sell, and an average 1-year price target of $34.00.
• Cohu missed its last quarter's EPS, reporting $(0.15) versus a $0.07 estimate, had a negative net margin of 16.4% despite revenue rising 29.9% year-over-year, and analysts forecast $0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The stock recently traded near its 12-month high (~$44) with a market cap of about $2.09 billion, institutional investors own roughly 94.67% of shares, and an SVP sold 1,000 shares under a Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding on vested awards.

Shares of Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.00.

Several brokerages have recently commented on COHU. B. Riley Financial reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Cohu in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Cohu from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Cohu from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cohu in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore began coverage on Cohu in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $35.00 target price for the company.

Cohu Stock Performance

Shares of COHU opened at $44.27 on Tuesday. Cohu has a 12 month low of $13.66 and a 12 month high of $44.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.15. The company has a current ratio of 6.88, a quick ratio of 5.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of -27.84 and a beta of 1.24.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.22). Cohu had a negative net margin of 16.40% and a negative return on equity of 3.76%. The business had revenue of $122.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $122.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.15) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 29.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Cohu will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Cohu

In related news, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $38,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 175,202 shares in the company, valued at $6,657,676. This trade represents a 0.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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. 3.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cohu

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COHU. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Cohu by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,214 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in Cohu in the 1st quarter worth $276,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Cohu by 2,042.7% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 162,674 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,393,000 after acquiring an additional 155,082 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Cohu by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 114,361 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,200,000 after acquiring an additional 5,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Cohu by 478.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,175,282 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $22,612,000 after acquiring an additional 972,088 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.67% of the company's stock.

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.

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