Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares of Cohu hit a new 52-week high, trading up to $38.43 intraday and last at $38.11 on volume of 33,081 shares (prior close $37.62).
• The analyst picture is mixed—five Buy ratings and two Sell ratings leave a MarketBeat consensus of Hold with a $34 price target, despite recent upgrades from Needham, Evercore and Stifel and a downgrade from Zacks.
• In the latest quarter Cohu reported EPS of -$0.15 (missing estimates), a -16.4% net margin and negative ROE, but revenue grew 29.9% YoY to $122.23M and the company shows strong liquidity (current ratio 6.88) with a market cap of about $1.84 billion.

Shares of Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $38.43 and last traded at $38.11, with a volume of 33081 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COHU. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cohu from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Cohu from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore began coverage on shares of Cohu in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on shares of Cohu from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Cohu from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Cohu Stock Performance

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 business's 50 day moving average is $30.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.44. The company has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of -24.50 and a beta of 1.24.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $122.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $122.09 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.15) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cohu, Inc. will post -0.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cohu

In related news, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 1,000 shares of Cohu stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $28,570.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 176,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,034,091.14. The trade was a 0.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.05% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Cohu

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in Cohu in the 3rd quarter worth $243,960,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Cohu by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,361,164 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $101,484,000 after purchasing an additional 57,618 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in Cohu by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,918,424 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $44,642,000 after purchasing an additional 7,927 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted 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 worth $42,340,000 after purchasing an additional 5,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 863,654 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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