Insider Selling: Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) CEO Sells 55,794 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Cohu CEO Luis Muller sold 55,794 shares at an average price of $60, generating proceeds of approximately $3.35 million. The Rule 10b5-1 sale was intended to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards and reduced his stake by 6.01%.
• Cohu reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.26 versus the $0.14 consensus and revenue of $149 million, up 38.3% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $68.75 price target, while institutional investors own 94.67% of the company.

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report) CEO Luis Muller sold 55,794 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $3,347,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 871,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,309,500. This trade represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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

NASDAQ:COHU traded up $2.87 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $60.62. The company had a trading volume of 1,386,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 925,726. The company has a current ratio of 5.74, a quick ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Cohu, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.67 and a 52 week high of $74.60. The firm has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -73.04 and a beta of 1.58. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $52.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.33.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cohu during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,224,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cohu in the second quarter worth $244,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in shares of Cohu in the second quarter worth $1,839,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cohu during the 2nd quarter valued at $143,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cohu during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,665,000. 94.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on COHU shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cohu in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Cohu in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Cohu from $54.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research cut shares of Cohu from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Cohu from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Cohu has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.75.

About Cohu

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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