Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) Upgraded to Outperform at William Blair

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) was upgraded by analysts at William Blair from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

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

Aehr Test Systems Stock Performance

Aehr Test Systems stock opened at $37.43 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -124.76 and a beta of 2.31. Aehr Test Systems has a 52 week low of $6.27 and a 52 week high of $43.13.

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $9.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.45 million. Research analysts forecast that Aehr Test Systems will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aehr Test Systems news, Director Rhea J. Posedel sold 13,998 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 456,979 shares in the company, valued at $13,718,509.58. This represents a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laura Oliphant sold 4,546 shares of the business’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 transaction of $142,744.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $578,764.80. The trade was a 19.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aehr Test Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aehr Test Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,920,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Aehr Test Systems by 129.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 830,664 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $16,771,000 after acquiring an additional 469,400 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Aehr Test Systems during the second quarter worth about $5,751,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 336,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Next Century Growth Investors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $11,155,000 after purchasing an additional 276,160 shares in the last quarter. 69.69% of the stock is currently 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.