Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Stock: Insider Luis Muller Sells 21,662 Shares

Key Points

• CEO Luis Muller sold 21,662 Cohu shares at an average price of $73, generating approximately $1.58 million. The Rule 10b5-1 transaction was intended to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards, leaving him with 822,927 shares.
• Cohu shares traded near a 52-week high at $73.73, while the company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations: EPS was $0.26 versus a $0.14 consensus estimate, and revenue rose 38.3% year over year to $149 million.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.75. Institutional investors own approximately 94.67% of Cohu’s outstanding stock.

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report) CEO Luis Muller sold 21,662 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total transaction of $1,581,326.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 822,927 shares in the company, valued at $60,073,671. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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

COHU traded up $0.25 during trading on Monday, reaching $73.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,137,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 989,032. Cohu, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.67 and a 52-week high of $75.72. The company has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -88.83 and a beta of 1.51. The company's fifty day moving average price is $55.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 4.72 and a current ratio of 5.74.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $149.00 million during 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 revenue was up 38.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on COHU shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Cohu from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of Cohu in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research lowered Cohu from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Craig Hallum restated a "buy" rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Cohu in a report on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.75.

Institutional Trading of Cohu

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cohu in the 2nd quarter worth about $545,932,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Cohu in the second quarter valued at approximately $77,814,000. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY acquired a new stake in shares of Cohu in the second quarter valued at about $42,794,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Cohu in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,523,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 531,661 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.67% of the company's stock.

Cohu Company Profile

Cohu, Inc provides semiconductor test and inspection equipment, consumables and related services used by semiconductor manufacturers and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test providers. Its solutions support the testing and handling of integrated circuits throughout the manufacturing process, helping customers evaluate device performance, reliability and quality.

The company's product portfolio includes semiconductor test handlers, inspection and metrology systems, thermal-management equipment, test contactors and other interface products.

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