Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) Short Interest Up 7.4% in September

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,160,000 shares, an increase of 7.4% from the September 15th total of 1,080,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 344,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Cohu Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of COHU traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $25.18. The stock had a trading volume of 295,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 309,861. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.18. Cohu has a 12-month low of $22.80 and a 12-month high of $36.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 5.09 and a current ratio of 6.95. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -505.60 and a beta of 1.53.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $104.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $105.00 million. Cohu had a negative net margin of 5.70% and a positive return on equity of 1.27%. Equities research analysts forecast that Cohu will post -0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COHU. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Cohu from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup cut Cohu from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Cohu from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cohu news, Director Nina Richardson sold 4,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.14, for a total transaction of $120,675.86. Following the sale, the director now owns 28,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $683,475.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,399 shares of company stock worth $130,204. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cohu

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COHU. Creative Planning increased its stake in Cohu by 219.4% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 27,237 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 18,709 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Cohu by 49.4% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 15,974 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 5,281 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cohu by 677.0% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 39,031 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 34,008 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cohu in the second quarter valued at about $357,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC grew its stake in Cohu by 38.0% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 17,214 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 4,744 shares in the last quarter. 94.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cohu Company Profile

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.