Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Buys 235,438 Shares of Cohu, Inc. $COHU

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its Cohu stake by 349.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 235,438 additional shares and bringing its total to 302,838 shares worth about $7.0 million.
• Cohu shares rose 1.9% and were trading at $46.53, near their 52-week high of $52.43; the company has a market cap of $2.19 billion and a strong liquidity position.
• In its latest earnings report, Cohu posted $0.01 EPS, missing expectations, while revenue came in at $125.12 million and rose 29.3% from a year earlier. Analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $49.00.

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC raised its stake in Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU - Free Report) by 349.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 302,838 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 235,438 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC owned approximately 0.65% of Cohu worth $7,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Cohu by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,847 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Cohu by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of Cohu by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 13,712 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cohu by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,564 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of Cohu by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 65,233 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,255,000 after buying an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. 94.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cohu Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Cohu stock opened at $46.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.10 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 5.31, a current ratio of 6.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.94. Cohu, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.46 and a 12-month high of $52.43.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $125.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.14 million. Cohu had a negative return on equity of 3.50% and a negative net margin of 11.54%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.02) EPS. Research analysts expect that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COHU. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Cohu from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Cohu in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. B. Riley Financial restated a "buy" rating on shares of Cohu in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cohu from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cohu in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.92, for a total transaction of $46,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 172,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,103,177.84. This trade represents a 0.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director William Bendush sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.14, for a total transaction of $368,550.00. Following the sale, the director owned 24,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,217,689.20. This trade represents a 23.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 22,257 shares of company stock worth $1,018,986 in the last quarter. 3.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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