Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $35.67, but opened at $38.00. Aehr Test Systems shares last traded at $38.27, with a volume of 382,455 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AEHR shares. William Blair upgraded shares of Aehr Test Systems from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Lake Street Capital initiated coverage on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Craig Hallum reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Aehr Test Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aehr Test Systems currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

Aehr Test Systems Trading Up 7.9%

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.22. The firm has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of -128.87 and a beta of 2.22.

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.04. Aehr Test Systems had a negative net margin of 16.63% and a negative return on equity of 4.57%. The firm had revenue of $9.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.45 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aehr Test Systems will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rhea J. Posedel sold 13,998 shares of Aehr Test Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.02, for a total transaction of $420,219.96. Following the sale, the director owned 456,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,718,509.58. The trade was a 2.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Laura Oliphant sold 4,546 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.40, for a total value of $142,744.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,432 shares in the company, valued at $578,764.80. This represents a 19.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aehr Test Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. XTX Topco Ltd raised its position in Aehr Test Systems by 75.7% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 39,225 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 16,897 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 129.9% during 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 during the period. Sun Group Wealth Partners purchased a new position in shares of Aehr Test Systems during the 4th quarter worth $355,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its position in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 181,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,664,000 after purchasing an additional 3,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 59,219 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

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.