Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Shares Up 6.7% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Cohu shares jumped 6.7% to about $37.77 on Friday, with ~639,397 shares traded (down ~20% from average), and the stock sits well above its 50- and 200-day moving averages ($30.46 and $26.15) and above the consensus price target of $34.
• Analyst views are mixed: five analysts currently rate Cohu a Buy and two a Sell, with several recent price-target increases but an overall MarketBeat consensus rating of Hold and a $34 consensus target.
• Cohu reported quarterly EPS of -$0.15, missing the $0.07 estimate while revenue of $122.23M was roughly in line and up 29.9% year-over-year, though the company still posts a negative net margin (-16.4%) and negative return on equity.

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 6.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $37.89 and last traded at $37.7740. 639,397 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average session volume of 795,820 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on COHU. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Cohu from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Cohu from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore began coverage on shares of Cohu in a report on Monday, March 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research cut shares of Cohu from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cohu in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Cohu Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is $30.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 5.69 and a current ratio of 6.88. The stock has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of -23.70 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) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $122.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $122.09 million. Cohu had a negative net margin of 16.40% and a negative return on equity of 3.76%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.15) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cohu, Inc. will post -0.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $28,570.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 176,202 shares in the company, valued at $5,034,091.14. This trade represents a 0.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cohu

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in Cohu in the 3rd quarter worth $243,960,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 during the period. Royce & Associates LP raised its position 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 during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Cohu by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,819,530 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $42,340,000 after acquiring an additional 5,439 shares during the period. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cohu by 131.5% in the third quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520,386 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $30,909,000 after acquiring an additional 863,654 shares during the period. 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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