StockNews.com Lowers Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) to Sell

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on AEHR. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Craig Hallum reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Aehr Test Systems Price Performance

Shares of AEHR traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $11.83. 1,115,977 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,655,360. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $15.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.08. Aehr Test Systems has a 52-week low of $10.53 and a 52-week high of $54.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $341.30 million, a PE ratio of 16.66 and a beta of 1.97.

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 9th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.04. Aehr Test Systems had a return on equity of 26.97% and a net margin of 25.76%. The business had revenue of $21.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.10 million. Equities research analysts predict that Aehr Test Systems will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Avijit K. Ray-Chaudhuri bought 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.87 per share, with a total value of $53,610.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 9,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $173,678.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Gayn Erickson sold 4,871 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.39, for a total value of $84,706.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 427,935 shares in the company, valued at $7,441,789.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Avijit K. Ray-Chaudhuri acquired 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.87 per share, for a total transaction of $53,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,719 shares in the company, valued at $173,678.53. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,738 shares of company stock worth $151,723. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aehr Test Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEHR. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aehr Test Systems during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,623,000. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 253.4% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,830,555 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $75,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312,565 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Aehr Test Systems during the fourth quarter valued at $23,229,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 10,714.9% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 662,307 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $17,571,000 after acquiring an additional 656,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in Aehr Test Systems by 141.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 953,674 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $43,583,000 after purchasing an additional 558,908 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.69% of the company's stock.

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.

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