Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,900,000 shares, a growth of 8.0% from the December 15th total of 1,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 306,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.2 days. Currently, 4.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cohu

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of COHU. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cohu by 7.1% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,358,288 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $86,308,000 after acquiring an additional 224,022 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Cohu by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,161,347 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $104,638,000 after purchasing an additional 51,640 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Cohu by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,145,692 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $82,134,000 after purchasing an additional 647,828 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Cohu by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,462,410 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,584,000 after buying an additional 152,574 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its position in shares of Cohu by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,126,789 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $28,958,000 after buying an additional 198,849 shares during the last quarter. 94.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cohu Stock Up 0.7 %

COHU stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $24.40. 374,422 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 268,449. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 6.38 and a quick ratio of 4.69. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.91. Cohu has a twelve month low of $22.80 and a twelve month high of $36.60.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Cohu from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of Cohu from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Craig Hallum raised shares of Cohu from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Cohu from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.50.

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.