Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) Trading Up 11.5% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Aehr Test Systems shares rose by 11.5% during mid-day trading, reaching a high of $18.90, as trading volume significantly decreased.
• Analysts have downgraded Aehr Test Systems to a "sell" rating, despite the company reporting better-than-expected earnings results.
• Institutional investors own 69.69% of Aehr Test Systems stock, with several recent transactions indicating a mix of buying and selling activity among hedge funds.

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR - Get Free Report) shares were up 11.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $18.90 and last traded at $18.77. Approximately 368,168 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 1,127,491 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Aehr Test Systems to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th.

Aehr Test Systems Stock Down 4.5%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $14.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.14. The company has a market capitalization of $537.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -139.56 and a beta of 2.35.

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $14,100 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.83 million. Aehr Test Systems had a negative net margin of 6.63% and a negative return on equity of 0.15%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aehr Test Systems will post 0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Rhea J. Posedel sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.83, for a total value of $356,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 71,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,411,162.29. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Alistair N. Sporck sold 3,000 shares of Aehr Test Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.13, for a total value of $42,390.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 30,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,317.04. The trade was a 8.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,995 shares of company stock valued at $552,185. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEHR. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Aehr Test Systems in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Aehr Test Systems by 1,753.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,079 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 6,697 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Aehr Test Systems during the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in Aehr Test Systems by 15.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,062 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aehr Test Systems in the first quarter worth about $86,000. 69.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aehr Test Systems Company Profile

Aehr Test Systems provides test solutions for testing, burning-in, and semiconductor devices in wafer level, singulated die, and package part form, and installed systems worldwide. Its product portfolio includes FOX-XP and FOX-NP systems that are full wafer contact and singulated die/module test and burn-in systems that can test, burn-in, and stabilize range of devices, including silicon carbide-based and other power semiconductors, 2D and 3D sensors used in mobile phones, tablets and other computing devices, memory semiconductors, processors, microcontrollers, systems-on-a-chip, and photonics and integrated optical devices.