Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Aehr Test Systems shares jumped at the open, rising from a prior close of $59.57 to $65.50 and later trading near $65.90.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.28 versus $0.11 expected and revenue of $33.01 million versus $27.53 million forecast.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $118.75, alongside ratings ranging from sell to strong buy.

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $59.57, but opened at $65.50. Aehr Test Systems shares last traded at $65.8990, with a volume of 662,390 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Craig Hallum restated a "buy" rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aehr Test Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Lake Street Capital cut their price objective on Aehr Test Systems from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Aehr Test Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $118.75.

Aehr Test Systems Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $78.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.79. The company has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,699.52 and a beta of 3.36.

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The semiconductor company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $33.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27.53 million. Aehr Test Systems had a return on equity of 1.76% and a net margin of 2.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rhea J. Posedel sold 5,973 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $836,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 381,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,478,460. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alberto Salamone sold 9,672 shares of Aehr Test Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.72, for a total transaction of $1,235,307.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,359,386.64. This represents a 18.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $2,829,799 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aehr Test Systems

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AEHR. Advocate Investing Services LLC purchased a new stake in Aehr Test Systems during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in Aehr Test Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in shares of Aehr Test Systems during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in shares of Aehr Test Systems during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of Aehr Test Systems during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. 69.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Aehr Test Systems

Aehr Test Systems designs, manufactures and markets semiconductor test and burn-in equipment and related products. Its systems are used to test devices at the wafer, die and packaged-chip stages of production. The company's offerings include FOX series test and burn-in systems, WaferPak wafer-level contactors and DiePak carriers. These products support testing for applications such as silicon carbide power semiconductors, silicon photonics and other devices used in automotive, computing and communications markets.

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