Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) Short Interest Update

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,490,000 shares, an increase of 31.9% from the October 15th total of 1,130,000 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 318,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on COHU shares. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Cohu from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cohu from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Cohu from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Cohu from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Cohu from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cohu presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cohu

In other news, Director Nina Richardson sold 4,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.14, for a total transaction of $120,675.86. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,313 shares in the company, valued at $683,475.82. This represents a 15.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,599 shares of company stock valued at $135,850. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COHU. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Cohu by 1,256.3% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 868 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Cohu by 558.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,087 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Cohu by 158.1% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 939 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Cohu in the 2nd quarter valued at $97,000. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co purchased a new position in Cohu in the 2nd quarter valued at $132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.67% of the company’s stock.

Cohu Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COHU traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $25.43. 293,005 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 312,311. Cohu has a 1 year low of $22.80 and a 1 year high of $36.60. The company has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.95 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 4.69 and a current ratio of 6.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.51.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The semiconductor company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by ($0.02). Cohu had a negative net margin of 11.35% and a negative return on equity of 1.01%. The business had revenue of $95.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $95.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 36.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Cohu will post -0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Cohu

Cohu, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides semiconductor test equipment and services in China, the United States, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and internationally. The company supplies semiconductor test and inspection handlers, micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) test modules, test contactors, thermal sub-systems, and semiconductor automated test equipment for semiconductor manufacturers and test subcontractors.