Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Shares Climb 4.8% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Cohu shares rose 4.8% to about $53.24, although trading volume was 93% below the average session volume.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $68.75, implying potential upside from the trading price.
• Cohu exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.26 in EPS and $149 million in revenue, with revenue up 38.3% year over year; however, the company remained unprofitable on a net-margin basis and insiders sold shares during the quarter.

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 4.8% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $53.78 and last traded at $53.2420. Approximately 73,202 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 1,110,358 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of Cohu in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird began coverage on Cohu in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Cohu from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research cut Cohu from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on Cohu from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cohu currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.75.

Cohu Trading Up 8.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of -66.21 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 4.72, a current ratio of 5.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business's fifty day moving average price is $57.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.21.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Luis Muller sold 21,662 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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. Also, Director Nina Richardson sold 3,055 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total value of $157,454.70. Following the sale, the director owned 39,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,853.22. This trade represents a 7.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 134,999 shares of company stock valued at $8,321,309 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.05% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cohu

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Cohu during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cohu by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Cohu in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Cohu by 147.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 528 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Cohu in the second quarter valued at $48,000. 94.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cohu

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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