Cohu, Inc. $COHU Shares Sold by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its position in Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) by 44.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 68,154 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.18% of Cohu worth $2,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its holdings in Cohu by 25.0% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 40,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP raised its stake in shares of Cohu by 183.4% during the 1st quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 50,565 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,548,000 after buying an additional 32,721 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Cohu by 93.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 251,122 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,689,000 after buying an additional 121,015 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Cohu in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in Cohu by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 24,993 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $765,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. 94.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Cohu

In other Cohu news, CEO Luis A. Muller sold 45,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.62, for a total value of $2,105,079.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 927,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,245,597.78. This trade represents a 4.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director James A. Donahue sold 10,257 shares of Cohu stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.77, for a total value of $479,719.89. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,343.06. This trade represents a 74.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 106,475 shares of company stock worth $5,079,689 in the last quarter. 3.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cohu Stock Performance

Shares of COHU opened at $52.88 on Monday. Cohu, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.67 and a fifty-two week high of $74.60. The company has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of -63.71 and a beta of 1.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 4.72 and a current ratio of 5.74.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $149.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.20 million. Cohu had a negative return on equity of 1.96% and a negative net margin of 7.43%.The business’s revenue was up 38.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.02 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.47 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Cohu from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on shares of Cohu from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Cohu from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cohu in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Cohu from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.75.

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.