Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Given New $70.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target on Cohu from $50 to $70 and kept a buy rating, implying about 27% upside from the prior close.
• Cohu’s latest earnings showed mixed results: EPS came in at $0.01, missing estimates, but revenue of $125.1 million beat expectations and rose 29.3% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive overall, with Cohu carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $59.29, while insiders have recently sold shares under pre-arranged plans.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $50.00 to $70.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the semiconductor company's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price objective points to a potential upside of 26.95% from the company's previous close.

COHU has been the topic of several other research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Cohu from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Cohu in a research report on Wednesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Cohu and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Cohu in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Cohu from $33.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cohu has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.29.

Cohu Stock Performance

Shares of COHU opened at $55.14 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of -46.34 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.31 and a current ratio of 6.43. The company's 50 day moving average price is $55.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.58. Cohu has a 52 week low of $17.80 and a 52 week high of $74.60.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.02). Cohu had a negative net margin of 11.54% and a negative return on equity of 3.50%. The company had revenue of $125.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.14 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.02) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 29.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Cohu will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Cohu

In other news, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.88, for a total transaction of $63,880.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 171,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,968,323.76. The trade was a 0.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total transaction of $608,920.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 343,792 shares in the company, valued at $16,103,217.28. This represents a 3.64% 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 have sold 90,668 shares of company stock worth $4,248,016 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.05% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Cohu

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Cohu in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cohu during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cohu by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cohu during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Gen Wealth Partners Inc bought a new position in Cohu during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. 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.

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