Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Makes New Investment in Aehr Test Systems $AEHR

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 87,546 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,410,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Aehr Test Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Advocate Investing Services LLC bought a new stake in Aehr Test Systems during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Aehr Test Systems during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Aehr Test Systems during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in Aehr Test Systems during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rhea J. Posedel sold 8,413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $1,093,690.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 387,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,435,060. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.84, for a total transaction of $5,233,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 157,723 shares in the company, valued at $20,636,477.32. The trade was a 20.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 109,475 shares of company stock valued at $13,827,160. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AEHR. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Aehr Test Systems in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Aehr Test Systems in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $175.00 target price on the stock. Freedom Capital raised Aehr Test Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Aehr Test Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.67.

Aehr Test Systems Trading Up 8.6%

Aehr Test Systems stock opened at $145.61 on Tuesday. Aehr Test Systems has a 12-month low of $16.38 and a 12-month high of $147.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -606.68 and a beta of 3.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $93.83 and a 200 day moving average of $72.59.

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.