Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) Stock Falls 17.4% – What’s Next?

Shares of Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) traded down 17.4% on Thursday. The company traded as low as $52.80 and last traded at $50.2240. Approximately 759,486 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 2,510,640 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AEHR. Zacks Research downgraded Aehr Test Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Craig Hallum reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Lake Street Capital cut their target price on shares of Aehr Test Systems from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aehr Test Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $118.75.

Aehr Test Systems Trading Up 9.0%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $79.76 and a 200-day moving average of $74.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -223.20 and a beta of 3.36.

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The semiconductor company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $33.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.53 million. Aehr Test Systems had a negative return on equity of 3.83% and a negative net margin of 14.25%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aehr Test Systems will post 0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aehr Test Systems

In other Aehr Test Systems news, EVP Alberto Salamone sold 9,672 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,359,386.64. This represents a 18.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gayn Erickson sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.84, for a total transaction of $5,233,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 157,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,636,477.32. The trade was a 20.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 87,475 shares of company stock valued at $11,459,240 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aehr Test Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in shares of Aehr Test Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC bought a new position in shares of Aehr Test Systems in the third quarter worth $3,626,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aehr Test Systems in the third quarter valued at about $2,149,000. Keybank National Association OH acquired a new position in Aehr Test Systems in the third quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Aehr Test Systems in the third quarter valued at about $3,203,000. 69.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Aehr Test Systems

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ: AEHR) develops and manufactures test and burn-in equipment used to qualify and screen semiconductor devices. Its systems are designed to identify manufacturing defects and reliability issues before chips are shipped to customers, helping semiconductor manufacturers improve production yields and product quality.

The company’s product portfolio includes the FOX family of semiconductor test systems, including the FOX-XP, FOX-NP and FOX-1P platforms. Aehr also provides wafer contactors, DiePak carriers and related test fixtures and software.