Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Downgraded by Zacks Investment Research to Sell

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU – Get Rating) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports.

According to Zacks, “Cohu is a leading supplier of semiconductor test and inspection handlers, micro-electro mechanical system (MEMS) test modules, test contactors and thermal sub-systems used by global semiconductor manufacturers and test subcontractors. “

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on COHU. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Cohu in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. B. Riley cut shares of Cohu from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Cohu from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cohu currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.86.

NASDAQ COHU traded down $0.57 on Tuesday, reaching $25.63. 12,061 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 392,506. The firm has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.47 and a beta of 1.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.49. Cohu has a fifty-two week low of $25.06 and a fifty-two week high of $47.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 3.06 and a current ratio of 3.90.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 10th. The semiconductor company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $191.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.14 million. Cohu had a net margin of 18.86% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cohu will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other news, VP Ian P. Lawee sold 1,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.00, for a total value of $51,711.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cohu in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $690,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Cohu by 252.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 403,066 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $12,873,000 after buying an additional 288,557 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Cohu by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,098,962 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $67,041,000 after buying an additional 495,304 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Cohu by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 8,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Cohu by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 32,057 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after buying an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. 87.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cohu (Get Rating)

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 and electronics manufacturers, and test subcontractors.

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