Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) CEO Luis Muller Sells 27,236 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• Cohu CEO Luis Muller sold 27,236 shares at an average price of $65, generating $1.77 million. The transaction occurred under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding, reducing his direct holdings by 3.12% to 844,589 shares.
• Cohu reported quarterly EPS of $0.26, exceeding the $0.14 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 38.3% year over year to $149 million. Shares recently traded at $67, near the company’s 52-week high of $74.60.
• Analysts hold a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $68.75, while institutional investors own 94.67% of the stock.

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report) CEO Luis Muller sold 27,236 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $1,770,340.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 844,589 shares in the company, valued at $54,898,285. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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.

Cohu Stock Performance

Shares of Cohu stock traded up $3.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $67.00. The company had a trading volume of 766,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 956,820. The firm has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of -80.72 and a beta of 1.58. Cohu, Inc. has a one year low of $18.67 and a one year high of $74.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.74 and a quick ratio of 4.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.21.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Cohu from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Craig Hallum restated a "buy" rating and set a $74.00 price target on shares of Cohu in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Cohu from $54.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Cohu in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cohu in a report on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cohu currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Cohu during the second quarter valued at about $545,932,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Cohu in the 2nd quarter worth about $77,814,000. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of Cohu in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,794,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Cohu during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,523,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its position in shares of Cohu by 125.5% during the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 955,344 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $29,253,000 after purchasing an additional 531,661 shares during the last quarter. 94.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cohu Company Profile

Cohu, Inc is a semiconductor test and inspection equipment company that develops products used throughout the semiconductor manufacturing process. Its portfolio includes semiconductor test handlers, test contactors, inspection and metrology systems, thermal-management solutions, and software for managing and analyzing test data.

The company's equipment helps semiconductor manufacturers and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test providers handle, connect, test, inspect, and characterize packaged semiconductor devices.

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