ACM Research (NASDAQ:ACMR) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• ACM Research shares gapped up ahead of Wednesday’s open, opening at $69.35 versus the prior close of $66.45 before trading around $67.75. The move came on moderate volume of 338,611 shares.
• Recent earnings were strong, with the company reporting $0.34 EPS versus estimates of $0.26 and revenue of $231.26 million versus expectations of $215.69 million. Revenue rose 34.2% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 1.2.
• Wall Street remains cautious overall: one analyst rates the stock a Buy, two rate it Hold, and the consensus target price is $40.00. Despite that, Seaport Research Partners recently initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $75 target.

Shares of ACM Research, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACMR - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $66.45, but opened at $69.35. ACM Research shares last traded at $67.7510, with a volume of 338,611 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ACMR shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ACM Research from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of ACM Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on shares of ACM Research in a report on Monday, May 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ACM Research from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.00.

ACM Research Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $50.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.51. The firm has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.90 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

ACM Research (NASDAQ:ACMR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $231.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $215.69 million. ACM Research had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 4.17%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 34.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that ACM Research, Inc. will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at ACM Research

In other news, Director Tracy Liu sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.38, for a total transaction of $2,132,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 110,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,248,377.36. This represents a 28.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles C. Pappis sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $260,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $260,000. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 65,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,110,750 in the last ninety days. 25.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in ACM Research by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 7,764 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in ACM Research by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 22,851 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $901,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. First Growth Capital LLC raised its position in ACM Research by 5.4% in the first quarter. First Growth Capital LLC now owns 5,598 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in ACM Research by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,070 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in ACM Research by 90.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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