Azarias Capital Management L.P. Sells 177,648 Shares of Cohu, Inc. $COHU

Key Points

• Azarias Capital Management cut its Cohu stake by 74.9% in the first quarter, selling 177,648 shares and leaving it with 59,559 shares valued at about $1.82 million.
• Cohu reported mixed quarterly results, posting $0.01 EPS versus $0.03 expected while revenue of $125.12 million topped estimates and rose 29.3% year over year.
• Despite recent insider selling and the stock’s sharp rise to around $69.40, analysts remain generally bullish, with six Buy ratings and a consensus price target of $52.33.

Azarias Capital Management L.P. lowered its holdings in Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU - Free Report) by 74.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,559 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 177,648 shares during the quarter. Cohu accounts for about 0.8% of Azarias Capital Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Azarias Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.13% of Cohu worth $1,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of COHU. Sheets Smith Wealth Management raised its stake in Cohu by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 14,644 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Cohu by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 228,939 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $5,327,000 after buying an additional 29,746 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in shares of Cohu in the fourth quarter valued at about $225,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Cohu during the fourth quarter valued at about $269,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cohu by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 334,429 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $7,782,000 after acquiring an additional 91,094 shares during the period. 94.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cohu Stock Performance

COHU opened at $69.40 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.81. Cohu, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.71 and a fifty-two week high of $70.46. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.32 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 6.43 and a quick ratio of 5.31.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $125.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.02) EPS. The business's revenue was up 29.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Cohu

In related news, Director James A. Donahue sold 10,257 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.77, for a total transaction of $479,719.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,343.06. The trade was a 74.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Luis A. Muller sold 45,154 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.62, for a total transaction of $2,105,079.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 927,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,245,597.78. The trade was a 4.64% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 90,668 shares of company stock valued at $4,248,016. Corporate insiders own 3.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $60.00 price target on shares of Cohu and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Cohu from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cohu from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Cohu from $33.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Cohu in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.33.

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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