Needham Investment Management LLC Acquires 27,000 Shares of Cohu, Inc. $COHU

Needham Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) by 22.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 145,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,000 shares during the period. Needham Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Cohu were worth $3,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Cohu by 3.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,214 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in Cohu during the first quarter worth about $276,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Cohu by 2,042.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 162,674 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,393,000 after acquiring an additional 155,082 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Cohu by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 114,361 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,200,000 after purchasing an additional 5,297 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Cohu by 478.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,175,282 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,612,000 after purchasing an additional 972,088 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.67% of the company’s stock.

Cohu Trading Up 4.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:COHU opened at $64.05 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.31 and a current ratio of 6.43. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -53.82 and a beta of 1.62. Cohu, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.71 and a 52-week high of $65.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.61.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $125.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.14 million. Cohu had a negative net margin of 11.54% and a negative return on equity of 3.50%. The business’s revenue was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.02) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cohu

In other news, Director Steven J. Bilodeau sold 10,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.85, for a total value of $460,026.45. Following the transaction, the director owned 52,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,399.20. The trade was a 16.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Luis A. Muller sold 45,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.62, for a total transaction of $2,105,079.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 927,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,245,597.78. The trade was a 4.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 89,668 shares of company stock worth $4,184,136 over the last 90 days. 3.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COHU. Jefferies Financial Group set a $60.00 price objective on Cohu and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Cohu from $35.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Cohu from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Cohu in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Cohu from $33.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cohu currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

Cohu 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.