Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $67.89, but opened at $79.15. Aehr Test Systems shares last traded at $77.9370, with a volume of 932,276 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on AEHR shares. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Aehr Test Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Craig Hallum upgraded 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Aehr Test Systems from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.00.

Aehr Test Systems Trading Up 12.2%

The company has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -197.50 and a beta of 3.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $95.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.12.

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 7th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aehr Test Systems will post -0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Alistair N. Sporck sold 2,000 shares of Aehr Test Systems stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $187,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $484,049.50. This trade represents a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rhea J. Posedel sold 17,115 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $1,711,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 45,261 shares in the company, valued at $4,526,100. The trade was a 27.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 309,441 shares of company stock valued at $24,130,018. 6.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aehr Test Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 129.9% during 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. grew its stake in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 1,137.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 366,570 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $11,037,000 after acquiring an additional 336,940 shares in the last quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC boosted its holdings in Aehr Test Systems by 99.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $12,965,000 after purchasing an additional 189,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in Aehr Test Systems by 1,321.9% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 100,199 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,023,000 after buying an additional 108,399 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.