Cohu CEO Sells $3.35 Million in Shares Under Trading Plan

Cohu CEO Luis Muller sold 55,794 shares for $3.35 million on September 21, at an exact price of $60 apiece. The sale was disclosed in a Form 4 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which identifies it as part of a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted on May 28. Afterward, Muller held 871,825 shares directly, including restricted stock units that convert to shares only as they vest and subject to stated conditions.

That scheduled-sale detail matters. A 10b5-1 plan sets out trading instructions in advance, so the transaction does not by itself show that Muller changed his view of Cohu’s near-term prospects. Nor does the filing establish why he chose to sell. The shares sold were about 6% of his pre-sale direct stake, according to Motley Fool’s filing analysis.

The transaction lands as the semiconductor-equipment supplier reports a sharp rebound in demand. Cohu posted second-quarter fiscal 2026 sales of $149 million, up 38% from a year earlier, and a GAAP net loss of just $200,000, narrower than the $16.9 million loss a year before. On a non-GAAP basis, the company reported net income of $14.1 million, or 26 cents a share.

Management tied the improvement partly to AI-computing demand, including adoption of its Eclipse test handler with active thermal control for high-power data-center processors. Cohu raised its fiscal 2026 estimate for high-performance-computing revenue to $100 million-$110 million and forecast third-quarter sales of $170 million, plus or minus $7 million. It ended the second quarter with $498.2 million in cash and investments.

The stakes for investors are less about the isolated insider sale than whether that demand converts into sustained revenue and profitability. Cohu’s second-quarter GAAP results were close to break-even, while its adjusted profit was positive; that gap makes the distinction between reported and adjusted earnings important as the recovery progresses. Muller’s retained shares also leave him with substantial exposure to the company’s performance, though the restricted units are not all immediately available stock.