Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after William Blair upgraded the stock from a market perform rating to an outperform rating. The company traded as high as $44.54 and last traded at $40.2420, with a volume of 767140 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.43.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rhea J. Posedel sold 13,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.02, for a total transaction of $420,219.96. Following the sale, the director directly owned 456,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,718,509.58. This represents a 2.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura Oliphant sold 4,546 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.40, for a total transaction of $142,744.40. Following 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aehr Test Systems

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aehr Test Systems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,920,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in 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 valued at $16,771,000 after purchasing an additional 469,400 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Aehr Test Systems during the second quarter valued at $5,751,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Aehr Test Systems by 1,137.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 366,570 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $11,037,000 after purchasing an additional 336,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Next Century Growth Investors LLC lifted its position in Aehr Test Systems by 99.9% in the 4th quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 552,506 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $11,155,000 after buying an additional 276,160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

Aehr Test Systems Stock Up 8.5%

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -134.17 and a beta of 2.31.

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. Aehr Test Systems had a negative return on equity of 4.57% and a negative net margin of 16.63%.The business had revenue of $9.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.45 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Aehr Test Systems will post 0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.