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

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,080,000 shares, an increase of 13.4% from the August 31st total of 952,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 357,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cohu

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cohu in the first quarter worth approximately $755,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cohu by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,165,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $147,421,000 after buying an additional 59,716 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Cohu by 111.0% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 39,061 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 20,549 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Cohu by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 160,259 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,341,000 after buying an additional 16,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cohu in the 1st quarter valued at about $596,000. Institutional investors own 94.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Cohu Stock Performance

COHU traded up $0.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $25.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 262,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 313,284. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.77. The company has a quick ratio of 5.09, a current ratio of 6.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Cohu has a one year low of $22.80 and a one year high of $36.60. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of -519.00 and a beta of 1.53.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.03). Cohu had a negative net margin of 5.70% and a positive return on equity of 1.27%. The firm had revenue of $104.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $105.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cohu will post -0.41 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.