The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases Shares of 1,052,816 Cohu, Inc. $COHU

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,052,816 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,814,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COHU. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Cohu in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cohu by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Cohu in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Cohu in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Cohu by 202.7% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415 shares during the last quarter. 94.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Andrew M. Caggia sold 15,252 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.74, for a total value of $789,138.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 64,778 shares in the company, valued at $3,351,613.72. This trade represents a 19.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Nina Richardson sold 3,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total transaction of $157,454.70. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 39,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,853.22. This trade represents a 7.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 30,307 shares of company stock worth $1,630,573 over the last 90 days. 3.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on COHU. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Cohu in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of Cohu from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Cohu in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Cohu in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Cohu from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.75.

Cohu Stock Performance

Shares of COHU opened at $50.61 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.57. The company has a quick ratio of 4.72, a current ratio of 5.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of -60.98 and a beta of 1.59. Cohu, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.67 and a 52-week high of $74.60.

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

Cohu Company Profile

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.