Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) Trading Down 7.3% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares fell 7.3% on Monday, trading as low as $86.51 and last at $88.93, with intraday volume of ~953,160 shares (down 58% from the average session volume).
• Analyst coverage is mixed — three Buys, one Hold and one Sell — leaving a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $68, well below the current share price.
• Insiders sold 382,184 shares worth $28.36M over the past three months (including CEO and EVP sales); company insiders now own about 6.8% of the stock.

Shares of Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR - Get Free Report) fell 7.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $86.51 and last traded at $88.9250. 953,160 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 2,247,674 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AEHR. William Blair raised Aehr Test Systems from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Craig Hallum raised Aehr Test Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Lake Street Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Aehr Test Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Three equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $68.00.

Aehr Test Systems Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -230.02 and a beta of 2.28. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.32.

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $10.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.85 million. Aehr Test Systems had a negative return on equity of 7.15% and a negative net margin of 25.23%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aehr Test Systems will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Aehr Test Systems news, EVP Alberto Salamone sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,645,149.25. This represents a 19.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gayn Erickson sold 96,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.58, for a total value of $6,778,220.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 197,723 shares in the company, valued at $13,955,289.34. The trade was a 32.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 382,184 shares of company stock worth $28,362,244. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aehr Test Systems

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,337,433 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $47,193,000 after purchasing an additional 49,243 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aehr Test Systems in the 3rd quarter worth $26,920,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 purchasing an additional 469,400 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 685,694 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $13,846,000 after purchasing an additional 5,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. now owns 642,129 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $12,965,000 after purchasing an additional 189,117 shares in the last quarter. 69.69% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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