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

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $39.60, but opened at $36.23. Aehr Test Systems shares last traded at $40.2480, with a volume of 297,445 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AEHR shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Lake Street Capital began coverage on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. William Blair upgraded shares of Aehr Test Systems from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Craig Hallum reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Aehr Test Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -147.73 and a beta of 2.28.

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $9.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, equities analysts expect that Aehr Test Systems will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aehr Test Systems news, Director Rhea J. Posedel sold 13,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 456,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,718,509.58. The trade was a 2.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Laura Oliphant sold 4,546 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.40, for a total transaction of $142,744.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $578,764.80. This represents a 19.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 6.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings in Aehr Test Systems by 75.7% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 39,225 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 16,897 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 129.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Sun Group Wealth Partners acquired a new position in shares of Aehr Test Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $355,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its position in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 181,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,664,000 after buying an additional 3,460 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 59,219 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,196,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

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.