Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged 35.8% to 5,550,171 shares as of April 15, representing 18.9% of the company's stock and a short-interest ratio of 1.1 days.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed with a consensus "Hold", comprising three Buy, one Hold and one Sell ratings and an average price target of $68 despite recent upgrades from Craig Hallum and William Blair.
• Significant insider selling — insiders sold 382,184 shares worth $28.36 million in the last three months (including director sales around $85 per share), while insiders still own 6.8% of the company.

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 5,550,171 shares, a growth of 35.8% from the March 31st total of 4,088,490 shares. Currently, 18.9% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 5,163,712 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AEHR. Craig Hallum upgraded Aehr Test Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Lake Street Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aehr Test Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Aehr Test Systems from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aehr Test Systems presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $68.00.

Aehr Test Systems Stock Down 7.7%

Shares of Aehr Test Systems stock opened at $88.48 on Tuesday. Aehr Test Systems has a 12-month low of $8.02 and a 12-month high of $102.48. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -232.84 and a beta of 2.28. The business's 50 day moving average is $50.55 and its 200-day moving average is $33.77.

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 7th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.85 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Aehr Test Systems will post -0.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aehr Test Systems

In other Aehr Test Systems news, Director Laura Oliphant sold 4,665 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.59, for a total value of $399,277.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Howard T. Slayen sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $2,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 178,328 shares in the company, valued at $15,157,880. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 382,184 shares of company stock worth $28,362,244. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aehr Test Systems

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Aehr Test Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Aehr Test Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Aehr Test Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aehr Test Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.