Amtech Systems (NASDAQ:ASYS) Raised to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Amtech Systems to “strong-buy” from “buy,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold” with an average price target of $22.
• Amtech Systems reported quarterly earnings of $0.14 per share, beating estimates by $0.04, while revenue of $22.38 million exceeded expectations of $21.50 million.
• CEO Guy Shechter purchased 3,450 shares worth approximately $49,473, and institutional investors collectively own 50.21% of the company’s stock.

Amtech Systems (NASDAQ:ASYS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on ASYS. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Amtech Systems from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Zacks Research lowered Amtech Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Amtech Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.00.

Amtech Systems Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of Amtech Systems stock opened at $14.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $261.74 million, a PE ratio of 57.50 and a beta of 2.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.47 and a 200 day moving average of $16.59. Amtech Systems has a 12 month low of $6.18 and a 12 month high of $25.71.

Amtech Systems (NASDAQ:ASYS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $22.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.50 million. Amtech Systems had a return on equity of 6.33% and a net margin of 4.90%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Amtech Systems will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Amtech Systems

In related news, CEO Guy Shechter purchased 3,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.34 per share, with a total value of $49,473.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 53,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $766,473. This represents a 6.90% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 26.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amtech Systems by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 133,001 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,670,000 after buying an additional 1,720 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amtech Systems by 9.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,318 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in Amtech Systems during the second quarter worth about $86,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Amtech Systems by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 30,760 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 4,060 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Amtech Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $88,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.21% of the company's stock.

Amtech Systems Company Profile

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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