Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $68.75.

Several research firms have weighed in on COHU. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cohu in a report on Friday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Cohu from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Cohu in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. B. Riley Financial boosted their target price on Cohu from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 price target on shares of Cohu in a report on Friday, July 31st.

Cohu Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COHU traded up $1.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $56.30. The stock had a trading volume of 126,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,112,410. The firm has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of -67.90 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 4.72 and a current ratio of 5.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.92. Cohu has a twelve month low of $18.67 and a twelve month high of $74.60.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $149.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.20 million. Cohu had a negative return on equity of 1.96% and a negative net margin of 7.43%.Cohu’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.02 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Cohu will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Cohu

In other news, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 10,000 shares of Cohu stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.82, for a total value of $558,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 159,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,914,565.64. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Andrew Caggia sold 15,252 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.74, for a total transaction of $789,138.48. Following the sale, the director owned 64,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,351,613.72. This trade represents a 19.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 29,307 shares of company stock valued at $1,566,693 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cohu

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Cohu during the 2nd quarter valued at $545,932,000. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in Cohu by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,918,424 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,642,000 after purchasing an additional 7,927 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Cohu during the second quarter valued at approximately $77,814,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its stake in Cohu by 125.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cohu in the 1st quarter worth approximately $23,887,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.67% of the company’s stock.

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.