Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Raised to Strong-Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies raised Cohu to a strong‑buy, and the analyst consensus is one Strong Buy, five Buy, one Hold and one Sell with a MarketBeat average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.50.
• Cohu reported quarterly EPS of ($0.15), missing estimates of $0.07, while revenue was $122.2M (up 29.9% YoY) but profitability remains negative (net margin -16.4%).
• Shares opened at $46.19 (near a 52‑week high of $47.69) with a $2.18B market cap and negative P/E; institutional ownership is about 94.7% and an SVP sold 1,000 shares under a pre‑arranged 10b5‑1 plan.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Sunday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Cohu from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cohu from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Evercore assumed coverage on shares of Cohu in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Cohu from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cohu in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.50.

Cohu Stock Performance

Cohu stock opened at $46.19 on Friday. Cohu has a fifty-two week low of $15.34 and a fifty-two week high of $47.69. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $33.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 6.88 and a quick ratio of 5.69. The company has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.05 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cohu news, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $38,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 175,202 shares in the company, valued at $6,657,676. This trade represents a 0.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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. 3.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in Cohu during the third quarter worth approximately $243,960,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cohu by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,361,164 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $101,484,000 after buying an additional 57,618 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Cohu by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,918,424 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $44,642,000 after buying an additional 7,927 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Cohu by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,819,530 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $42,340,000 after buying an additional 5,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Cohu by 131.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520,386 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $30,909,000 after acquiring an additional 863,654 shares during the period. 94.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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