Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Stock

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $32.00 to $34.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 12.03% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on COHU. Evercore initiated coverage on Cohu in a research report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. B. Riley Financial reduced their price target on shares of Cohu from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Cohu from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Cohu from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cohu from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. 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, Cohu has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.00.

Cohu Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ COHU opened at $30.35 on Wednesday. Cohu has a fifty-two week low of $12.57 and a fifty-two week high of $34.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 5.69 and a current ratio of 6.88. The company has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.09 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $29.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.03.

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). The business had revenue of $122.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $122.09 million. Cohu had a negative net margin of 16.40% and a negative return on equity of 3.76%. Cohu’s revenue was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.15) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cohu will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $28,570.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 176,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,034,091.14. This represents a 0.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cohu

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cohu by 83.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,569 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cohu by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cohu in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cohu in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 94.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.