BlackRock Inc. Invests $545.93 Million in Cohu, Inc. $COHU

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired a new 15.6% stake in Cohu, purchasing 7.39 million shares valued at approximately $545.9 million. Institutional investors now own 94.67% of the semiconductor test-equipment company.
• Cohu reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings per share of $0.26 versus the $0.14 consensus estimate and revenue of $149 million, up 38.3% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Cohu has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $68.75, compared with shares opening at $51.30. Several firms recently raised their targets, including TD Cowen to $80.

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 7,386,449 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $545,932,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 15.60% of Cohu at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cohu during the 4th quarter worth about $33,174,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Cohu by 478.4% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,175,282 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $22,612,000 after buying an additional 972,088 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cohu during the first quarter worth approximately $23,887,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its holdings in Cohu by 125.5% in the first quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 955,344 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $29,253,000 after acquiring an additional 531,661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust purchased a new position in Cohu in the first quarter worth approximately $14,999,000. 94.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cohu Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COHU opened at $51.30 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $56.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.41. Cohu, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.67 and a 52 week high of $74.60. The company has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -61.81 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 4.72, a current ratio of 5.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $149.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.20 million. Cohu had a negative return on equity of 1.96% and a negative net margin of 7.43%.Cohu's quarterly revenue was up 38.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.02 EPS. Research analysts predict that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on COHU shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Cohu from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Cohu in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Cohu in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen increased their target price on Cohu from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Cohu from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.75.

Insider Transactions at Cohu

In other news, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.82, for a total transaction of $558,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 159,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,914,565.64. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Nina Richardson sold 3,055 shares of Cohu stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total value of $157,454.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 39,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,014,853.22. This represents a 7.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 30,307 shares of company stock valued at $1,630,573 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.05% 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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