UBS Group AG Grows Stock Holdings in Cohu, Inc. $COHU

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its Cohu stake by 39.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 143,507 shares worth about $3.34 million.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on the semiconductor equipment maker, with a Moderate Buy consensus and a $49 average price target; several firms recently reiterated buy ratings.
• Cohu reported Q1 revenue growth of 29.3% year over year to $125.12 million, but earnings of $0.01 per share fell short of estimates, while insiders also made recent stock sales.

UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU - Free Report) by 39.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 143,507 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 40,393 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned about 0.31% of Cohu worth $3,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Cohu by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,564 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Cohu by 83.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,569 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Cohu by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cohu by 202.7% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,415 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cohu during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $81,000. 94.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on COHU. Jefferies Financial Group set a $60.00 price target on shares of Cohu and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Cohu in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Cohu in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Cohu from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Cohu from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cohu presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Cohu Price Performance

COHU stock opened at $46.53 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of -39.10 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.31 and a current ratio of 6.43. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $39.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.99. Cohu, Inc. has a one year low of $16.46 and a one year 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $122.14 million. Cohu had a negative net margin of 11.54% and a negative return on equity of 3.50%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.02) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cohu

In other Cohu news, Director Steven J. Bilodeau sold 10,257 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.85, for a total value of $460,026.45. Following the sale, the director owned 52,272 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,344,399.20. The trade was a 16.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.92, for a total value of $46,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 172,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,103,177.84. The trade was a 0.58% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 22,257 shares of company stock valued at $1,018,986 over the last quarter. 3.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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