Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $42.56 and last traded at $43.20, with a volume of 95355 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COHU has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Cohu from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Zacks Research lowered Cohu from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cohu in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cohu in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Cohu from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.00.

Cohu Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 6.88, a quick ratio of 5.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.98. The firm has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of -27.37 and a beta of 1.24.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $122.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.15) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 29.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cohu, Inc. will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $38,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 175,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,657,676. This trade represents a 0.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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. Insiders own 3.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cohu

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COHU. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cohu by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,564 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cohu by 45.0% during 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 last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cohu during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cohu during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 94.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.