Amtech Systems (NASDAQ:ASYS) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Amtech Systems from “strong buy” to “buy.” With other analysts’ ratings included, the stock has a consensus “hold” rating and an average price target of $22.00.
• ASYS opened at $14.91, versus a 52-week range of $6.75 to $25.71, with a market capitalization of approximately $261 million. The company recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.14, exceeding the $0.10 consensus estimate, while revenue of $22.38 million also topped expectations.
• CEO Guy Shechter purchased 3,450 shares for roughly $49,473, increasing his position by 6.9%. Institutional investors own approximately 50.21% of the company.

Amtech Systems (NASDAQ:ASYS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Monday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on ASYS. Zacks Research cut shares of Amtech Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised Amtech Systems from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Amtech Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.00.

Amtech Systems Price Performance

ASYS opened at $14.91 on Monday. Amtech Systems has a 1-year low of $6.75 and a 1-year high of $25.71. The stock has a market cap of $261.07 million, a P/E ratio of 57.35 and a beta of 2.01. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $15.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.74.

Amtech Systems (NASDAQ:ASYS - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Amtech Systems had a return on equity of 6.33% and a net margin of 4.90%.The company had revenue of $22.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.50 million. Research analysts expect that Amtech Systems will post 0.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Guy Shechter acquired 3,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.34 per share, for a total transaction of $49,473.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 53,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $766,473. This represents a 6.90% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 26.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amtech Systems

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ASYS. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in shares of Amtech Systems by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 38,552 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $890,000 after buying an additional 972 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amtech Systems by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 133,001 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amtech Systems by 9.5% during 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 last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Amtech Systems during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amtech Systems by 15.2% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 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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