Amtech Systems (NASDAQ:ASYS) Rating Lowered to "Strong Sell" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Amtech Systems (NASDAQ:ASYS) from a "hold" to a "strong sell", and the stock's average rating on MarketBeat is a "Sell".
• Amtech missed quarterly estimates—EPS $0.03 vs. $0.07 expected and revenue $18.97M vs. $19.25M—reporting a negative net margin of 41.28% and negative return on equity.
• Despite the downgrades, large investors like Marshall Wace, Jane Street and Renaissance Technologies boosted or initiated positions, with institutions owning about 50.21% of the shares.

Amtech Systems (NASDAQ:ASYS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

ASYS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Amtech Systems in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Amtech Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "hold" rating on shares of Amtech Systems in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Sell".

Amtech Systems Stock Up 2.5%

ASYS opened at $13.15 on Monday. Amtech Systems has a 52 week low of $3.20 and a 52 week high of $18.59. The business's 50 day moving average is $13.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.53. The firm has a market cap of $189.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.14 and a beta of 1.67.

Amtech Systems (NASDAQ:ASYS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $18.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.25 million. Amtech Systems had a negative net margin of 41.28% and a negative return on equity of 1.53%. Equities analysts expect that Amtech Systems will post 0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amtech Systems

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASYS. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Amtech Systems by 235.0% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 352,624 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,425,000 after buying an additional 247,352 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Amtech Systems in the third quarter valued at about $1,689,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Amtech Systems by 85.7% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 325,754 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,088,000 after buying an additional 150,332 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Amtech Systems by 622.1% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 146,596 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,840,000 after acquiring an additional 126,296 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Amtech Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,122,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.21% of the company's stock.

About Amtech Systems

Amtech Systems, Inc is a global supplier of capital equipment and aftermarket parts for the solar photovoltaic and semiconductor industries. The company's solutions support key steps in wafer and cell production, offering both new machinery and spares designed to optimize yield, throughput and energy efficiency. Amtech operates through two primary segments: solar manufacturing and semiconductor & electronics packaging.

In its solar segment, Amtech provides diffusion furnaces, epitaxy reactors and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) systems used in high-volume solar cell fabrication.

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