Evercore Initiates Coverage on Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU)

Investment analysts at Evercore began coverage on shares of Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) in a note issued to investors on Monday. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $35.00 price target on the semiconductor company’s stock. Evercore’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 28.44% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on COHU. B. Riley Financial dropped their price target on Cohu from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research lowered Cohu from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cohu in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen upped their target price on Cohu from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Cohu from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cohu currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.60.

Cohu Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COHU opened at $27.25 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $29.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 6.88 and a quick ratio of 5.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.14 and a beta of 1.27. Cohu has a one year low of $12.57 and a one year high of $34.96.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.22). Cohu had a negative return on equity of 3.76% and a negative net margin of 16.40%.The company had revenue of $122.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.15) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 29.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cohu will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cohu by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,564 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Cohu by 83.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,569 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased 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 during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Cohu in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Cohu in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.67% of the company’s stock.

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.