20 Worst Performing AI Stocks of Last Week

10. Coherent, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHR)

Weekly Decline: 13.34%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 47

Coherent, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHR) is an information technology company based in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania. It manufactures engineered materials, optoelectronic components and devices, and optical and laser systems and subsystems for use in the industrial, communications, electronics, and instrumentation markets. Moreover, it’s a leader in the silicon carbide (SiC) market. SiC is a material used in high-performance chips.

This laser-making company has recently been garnering investor attention since it poached the CEO of Lattice Semiconductor, Jim Anderson, and made him its own CEO. Anderson has been a desirable executive for many companies since during his time at Lattice, shares of the company roughly octupled in value. Hence, companies like Coherent, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHR) were vying for his guidance, and this company managed to win him over.

However, even under new, stronger leadership, Coherent, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHR) still has several challenges to face. As of this May, the company had a significant debt load, which has been harming its profitability. Additionally, the P/E ratio of this stock is currently 24.5 versus the sector median of 22.8, so Coherent, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHR) is also slightly overvalued. This position might also explain Coherent, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:COHR) recent declines in September.

In total, 47 hedge funds were long Coherent, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHR) in the second quarter, with a total stake value of $1.6 billion.

Next Century Growth Investors, LLC mentioned Coherent, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHR) in its second-quarter 2024 investor letter:

“Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR) is a market leader in engineered materials, optoelectronic components, and lasers for use across various end markets, with attractive growth opportunities in areas such as the data center and electric vehicles. COHR recently hired a new CEO with a track record of enhancing business strategy to deliver consistent revenue growth and margin expansion, and we believe he has the opportunity to do the same at COHR.”