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

Shares of Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $96.06, but opened at $90.27. Aehr Test Systems shares last traded at $91.3650, with a volume of 179,781 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Aehr Test Systems Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $97.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -184.11 and a beta of 3.17.

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) last announced its quarterly 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. Aehr Test Systems had a negative return on equity of 7.15% and a negative net margin of 25.23%.The company had revenue of $10.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.85 million. Research analysts anticipate that Aehr Test Systems will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aehr Test Systems

In other news, Director Rhea J. Posedel sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were 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 directly owned 426,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,888,530. This trade represents a 6.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alberto Salamone sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.57, for a total transaction 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 represents a 19.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 375,005 shares of company stock worth $28,656,178. 6.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aehr Test Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Aehr Test Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aehr Test Systems in the third quarter worth $27,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Aehr Test Systems during the second quarter valued at $28,000. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in Aehr Test Systems during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aehr Test Systems during the third quarter worth about $42,000. 69.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Aehr Test Systems

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.