Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Shares Up 9.1% – Still a Buy?

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) rose 9.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $59.45 and last traded at $57.64. Approximately 1,460,426 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 29% from the average daily volume of 1,134,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COHU. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Cohu in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Cohu from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. 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 note on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised Cohu from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Cohu in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $68.75.

Cohu Trading Up 8.4%

The company has a current ratio of 5.74, a quick ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business’s 50-day moving average is $56.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.66. The firm has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -68.98 and a beta of 1.59.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share 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 net margin of 7.43% and a negative return on equity of 1.96%. Cohu’s quarterly revenue was up 38.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.02 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cohu

In other Cohu news, CEO Luis A. Muller sold 45,154 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.62, for a total value of $2,105,079.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 927,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,245,597.78. This trade represents a 4.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director James A. Donahue sold 10,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.77, for a total value of $479,719.89. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,578 shares in the company, valued at $167,343.06. The trade was a 74.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 98,975 shares of company stock worth $4,711,139. 3.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cohu

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COHU. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Cohu in the 1st quarter worth $705,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Cohu by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,361,164 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $101,484,000 after buying an additional 57,618 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its stake in Cohu by 349.3% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 302,838 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $7,047,000 after buying an additional 235,438 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Cohu in the first quarter worth about $634,000. Finally, Leeward Investments LLC MA raised its position in Cohu by 4.0% in the first quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 646,133 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $19,785,000 after acquiring an additional 24,755 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.67% of the company’s stock.

About Cohu

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.