Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $81.14, but opened at $86.00. Aehr Test Systems shares last traded at $82.1530, with a volume of 258,936 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Aehr Test Systems Trading Up 3.3%

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of -220.66 and a beta of 3.26. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.41.

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 7th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.02. Aehr Test Systems had a negative net margin of 25.23% and a negative return on equity of 7.15%. The firm had revenue of $10.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.85 million. As a group, research analysts expect 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 Howard T. Slayen sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $2,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 178,328 shares in the company, valued at $15,157,880. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Alberto Salamone sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 63,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,645,149.25. This represents a 19.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 375,005 shares of company stock worth $28,656,178 over the last 90 days. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aehr Test Systems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $1,196,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,777 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in shares of Aehr Test Systems in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aehr Test Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 3,448.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,029 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 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.