Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) Trading Down 7.9% – Here’s What Happened

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR)’s stock price fell 7.9% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $35.70 and last traded at $35.96. 370,133 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 1,509,089 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Aehr Test Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Craig Hallum reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Lake Street Capital initiated coverage on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Aehr Test Systems from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Aehr Test Systems Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of -116.60 and a beta of 2.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $33.04 and a 200-day moving average of $27.87.

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $9.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.45 million. Aehr Test Systems had a negative return on equity of 4.57% and a negative net margin of 16.63%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aehr Test Systems will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aehr Test Systems news, Director Rhea J. Posedel sold 13,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.02, for a total value of $420,219.96. Following the transaction, the director owned 456,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,718,509.58. This represents a 2.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura Oliphant sold 4,546 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.40, for a total transaction of $142,744.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $578,764.80. The trade was a 19.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aehr Test Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AEHR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,288,190 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $68,897,000 after purchasing an additional 65,444 shares in the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 200.0% in the 3rd quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 75,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,258,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Aehr Test Systems by 485.1% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 78,340 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,359,000 after buying an additional 64,950 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Aehr Test Systems in the third quarter worth approximately $26,920,000. Finally, Bosun Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Aehr Test Systems during the second quarter valued at approximately $272,000. 69.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.