ACM Research (NASDAQ:ACMR) Shares Down 7.6% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• ACM Research shares fell 7.6% on Monday, trading as low as $95.22 after closing at $103.00, on volume far below normal.
• Recent analyst coverage has been mixed, but the overall view remains Moderate Buy with an average price target of $127.50. Morgan Stanley was among the more optimistic firms, raising its target to $130.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.34 versus $0.26 expected and revenue of $231.26 million, up 34.2% year over year. Despite the strong quarter, insiders have sold shares recently, while hedge funds continue to hold a large stake in the company.

ACM Research, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACMR - Get Free Report) traded down 7.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $95.22 and last traded at $95.14. Approximately 243,119 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 1,535,571 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on ACM Research in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ACM Research from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of ACM Research in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Zacks Research cut shares of ACM Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $125.00 price objective on ACM Research and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $127.50.

ACM Research Trading Down 9.0%

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 3.51. The firm has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.92 and a beta of 1.90.

ACM Research (NASDAQ:ACMR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.08. ACM Research had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 4.17%. The firm had revenue of $231.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $215.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 34.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that ACM Research, Inc. will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider David H. Wang sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.05, for a total value of $5,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 802,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at $72,283,855.40. This represents a 6.95% 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, Director Charles C. Pappis sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $260,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $260,000. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 128,752 shares of company stock valued at $11,012,198 in the last 90 days. 24.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ACM Research

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of ACM Research by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,972,103 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $196,149,000 after buying an additional 125,690 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its position in ACM Research by 16,878.8% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,860,874 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $70,583,000 after buying an additional 1,849,914 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of ACM Research by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,392,306 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $54,926,000 after buying an additional 515,340 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in ACM Research by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,342,899 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $52,986,000 after buying an additional 19,397 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in ACM Research by 444.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,342,136 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $52,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,634 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.75% of the company's stock.

About ACM Research

ACM Research, Inc NASDAQ: ACMR designs, develops and markets wet processing equipment for the semiconductor industry. The company focuses on advanced wafer cleaning technologies that address critical contamination-control requirements for logic, memory and advanced packaging applications. Since its founding in 2003, ACM Research has engineered modular platform tools that can be configured for a range of spin, scrub and batch cleaning processes.

Its product portfolio encompasses single-wafer spin cleaning systems featuring high-purity megasonic capabilities, dynamic chemical scrubbing modules for post-CMP residue removal and batch-process cleaning equipment designed for high-throughput production environments.

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