Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys New Shares in Cohu, Inc. $COHU

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings purchased 35,920 Cohu shares worth approximately $1.09 million, giving it a 0.08% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 94.67% of the company.
• Cohu reported quarterly revenue of $125.12 million, up 29.3% year over year and above estimates, but earnings of $0.01 per share missed consensus by $0.02. The company remains unprofitable, with a negative net margin of 11.54%.
• Cohu shares opened at $42.47, while analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $63.86. Recent analyst targets range as high as $70, although one firm maintains a sell rating.

Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 35,920 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $1,087,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.08% of Cohu at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cohu by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,361,164 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $101,484,000 after purchasing an additional 57,618 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in Cohu by 0.4% during the fourth 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 grew its stake in Cohu by 0.3% during the fourth 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 during the period. SG Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Cohu in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,174,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Cohu by 478.4% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,175,282 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $22,612,000 after purchasing an additional 972,088 shares in the last quarter. 94.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cohu Stock Performance

Shares of Cohu stock opened at $42.47 on Wednesday. Cohu, Inc. has a one year low of $17.80 and a one year high of $74.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.69 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.16. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.02). Cohu had a negative return on equity of 3.50% and a negative net margin of 11.54%.The firm had revenue of $125.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.02) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 29.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on COHU shares. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on Cohu from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Cohu from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cohu in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of Cohu from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Cohu in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cohu has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cohu news, Director Steven J. Bilodeau sold 10,257 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.85, for a total transaction of $460,026.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 52,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,399.20. The trade was a 16.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Luis A. Muller sold 45,154 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.62, for a total transaction of $2,105,079.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 927,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold 89,668 shares of company stock worth $4,210,016 over the last quarter. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.