Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $114.59, but opened at $105.34. Aehr Test Systems shares last traded at $103.6450, with a volume of 395,478 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. William Blair upgraded shares of Aehr Test Systems from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Lake Street Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Craig Hallum raised Aehr Test Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Aehr Test Systems from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Aehr Test Systems from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aehr Test Systems presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.00.

Aehr Test Systems Trading Down 3.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -292.21 and a beta of 3.17. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.76 and a 200 day moving average of $46.21.

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 7th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $10.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.85 million. Aehr Test Systems had a negative return on equity of 7.15% and a negative net margin of 25.23%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aehr Test Systems will post -0.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aehr Test Systems

In other Aehr Test Systems news, Director Rhea J. Posedel sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $2,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 426,979 shares in the company, valued at $29,888,530. This represents a 6.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alberto Salamone sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.57, for a total value of $1,343,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 63,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,645,149.25. This trade represents a 19.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 375,005 shares of company stock worth $28,656,178. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aehr Test Systems

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEHR. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aehr Test Systems during the third quarter valued at about $26,920,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 129.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 830,664 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $16,771,000 after buying an additional 469,400 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Aehr Test Systems by 1,137.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 366,570 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $11,037,000 after purchasing an additional 336,940 shares during the period. Next Century Growth Investors LLC increased its holdings in Aehr Test Systems by 99.9% during the 4th quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 552,506 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $11,155,000 after purchasing an additional 276,160 shares during the period. Finally, Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Aehr Test Systems by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. now owns 642,129 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $12,965,000 after purchasing an additional 189,117 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

Aehr Test Systems Company Profile

Aehr Test Systems develops, manufactures and sells semiconductor test and burn-in equipment used by device manufacturers to ensure quality and reliability of integrated circuits. Its products are designed for wafer-level reliability assessment, functional test and stress screening of memory devices, system-on-chips, optical components and power semiconductors. By focusing on wafer-level burn-in and testing processes, the company helps reduce cost and improve yield for high-volume semiconductor production.

The company’s product portfolio includes FOX series wafer probe test and burn-in systems as well as ABTS burn-in ovens.