Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Key Points

• Aehr Test Systems shares fell sharply, opening at $85.50 versus the prior close of $94.69 and trading about 10.9% lower. The company has a $2.76 billion market capitalization and a high beta of 3.06.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and a $132.50 price target. Craig Hallum and Lake Street Capital maintained Buy ratings with targets of $125 and $110, respectively.
• Company insiders have recently reduced their holdings, selling 109,475 shares worth approximately $13.8 million over the past 90 days. Institutional investors still own about 69.69% of the company.

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $94.69, but opened at $85.50. Aehr Test Systems shares last traded at $85.7410, with a volume of 1,054,546 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEHR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Craig Hallum reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Lake Street Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Aehr Test Systems from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Aehr Test Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aehr Test Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aehr Test Systems has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $132.50.

Aehr Test Systems Stock Down 10.9%

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $91.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -352.56 and a beta of 3.06.

Insider Transactions at Aehr Test Systems

In other news, EVP Alberto Salamone sold 9,672 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.72, for a total transaction of $1,235,307.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 41,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,359,386.64. This trade represents a 18.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Adil Engineer sold 15,000 shares of Aehr Test Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.02, for a total value of $1,965,300.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 46,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,154,926.54. This represents a 24.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 109,475 shares of company stock valued at $13,827,160. Corporate insiders own 4.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aehr Test Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,245 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Advocate Investing Services LLC bought a new stake in Aehr Test Systems during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Aehr Test Systems during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of Aehr Test Systems in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 59,219 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,196,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.69% of the company's stock.

Aehr Test Systems Company Profile

Aehr Test Systems NASDAQ: AEHR develops and manufactures semiconductor test and burn-in equipment used to verify the reliability and performance of integrated circuits, wafers and packaged devices. Its systems are designed to identify defects and reliability issues before semiconductor products are shipped to customers.

The company's product portfolio includes the FOX family of test and burn-in systems, along with wafer-level and packaged-device solutions such as WaferPak contactors and DiePak carriers.

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