Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Trading Down 4.8% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) dropped 4.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $43.37 and last traded at $43.5360. Approximately 69,540 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 1,117,290 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on COHU shares. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on Cohu from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Cohu in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Cohu in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cohu in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.75.

Cohu Stock Up 10.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of -61.11 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $53.32 and its 200 day moving average is $46.38.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.02 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Andrew M. Caggia sold 15,252 shares of the company’s 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 directly owned 64,778 shares in the company, valued at $3,351,613.72. This represents a 19.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Nina Richardson sold 3,055 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total transaction of $157,454.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 39,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,853.22. The trade was a 7.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,307 shares of company stock valued at $1,630,573. Corporate insiders own 3.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cohu

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COHU. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in Cohu in the 2nd quarter valued at $569,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Cohu in the second quarter worth $222,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Cohu by 7,111.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,239,478 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $313,340,000 after purchasing an additional 4,180,686 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Cohu in the second quarter worth $3,106,000. Finally, Syon Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cohu in the second quarter worth $298,000. 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.