Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) Stock Price Down 8.7% – Here’s What Happened

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR)’s share price fell 8.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $38.00 and last traded at $38.7670. 431,436 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 1,531,582 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AEHR shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Aehr Test Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Lake Street Capital began coverage on Aehr Test Systems in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Craig Hallum reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a report on Friday, January 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.00.

Aehr Test Systems Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.19. The stock has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -118.90 and a beta of 2.22.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laura Oliphant sold 4,546 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.40, for a total transaction of $142,744.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $578,764.80. This represents a 19.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 456,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,718,509.58. The trade was a 2.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 6.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aehr Test Systems

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEHR. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Aehr Test Systems by 262.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 50,207 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 36,364 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 8.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,225 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 1,344 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 1.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 678,546 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $8,775,000 after buying an additional 8,658 shares in the last quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Aehr Test Systems during the second quarter worth about $300,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Aehr Test Systems by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 15,576 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 1,145 shares during the last quarter. 69.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aehr Test Systems Company Profile

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.