Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $109.55 and last traded at $109.19, with a volume of 1520353 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $95.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Aehr Test Systems Trading Up 15.7%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.33 and a 200 day moving average of $42.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -289.26 and a beta of 3.26.

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 7th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.02. The company 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 Activity at Aehr Test Systems

In other news, EVP Alberto Salamone sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.57, for a total transaction of $1,343,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 63,025 shares in the company, valued at $5,645,149.25. This trade represents a 19.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Alistair N. Sporck sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $187,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 5,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $484,049.50. This represents a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 375,005 shares of company stock valued at $28,656,178. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aehr Test Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AEHR. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Aehr Test Systems in the third quarter worth about $26,920,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 469,400 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Aehr Test Systems by 1,137.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 366,570 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $11,037,000 after purchasing an additional 336,940 shares in the last quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC grew its stake in Aehr Test Systems by 99.9% in the fourth quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 552,506 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $11,155,000 after purchasing an additional 276,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. grew its stake in Aehr Test Systems by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. now owns 642,129 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $12,965,000 after purchasing an additional 189,117 shares in the last quarter. 69.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.