ACM Research (NASDAQ:ACMR) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Key Points

• ACM Research shares jumped 2.5%, opening at $54.06 versus a prior close of $51.97 and later trading near $54.50.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $122.75; however, two firms recently downgraded the stock to “Hold.”
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.61 in earnings per share and $292.92 million in revenue, up 36% year over year. Insiders have also recently sold shares, including a $5.2 million sale by executive David H. Wang.

ACM Research, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACMR - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $51.97, but opened at $54.06. ACM Research shares last traded at $54.5040, with a volume of 265,842 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACMR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Daiwa Securities Group initiated coverage on shares of ACM Research in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $136.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut ACM Research from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday. Zacks Research downgraded ACM Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Craig Hallum restated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of ACM Research in a report on Monday, August 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.75.

ACM Research Trading Up 2.5%

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $70.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.63. The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.36 and a beta of 2.09.

ACM Research (NASDAQ:ACMR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The specialty retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $292.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $269.28 million. ACM Research's revenue for the quarter was up 36.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ACM Research, Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Haiping Dun sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.13, for a total transaction of $405,650.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $405,650. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider David H. Wang sold 70,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.59, for a total value of $5,221,300.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 802,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,873,989.72. The trade was a 8.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 24.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its stake in ACM Research by 16,878.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,849,914 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in ACM Research during the 2nd quarter worth $41,402,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in ACM Research by 207.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 719,023 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $28,286,000 after buying an additional 485,282 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of ACM Research by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 277,150 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $22,427,000 after acquiring an additional 53,295 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in ACM Research in the second quarter valued at about $22,204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.75% of the company's stock.

ACM Research Company Profile

ACM Research, Inc NASDAQ: ACMR develops and manufactures equipment used in semiconductor wafer processing. Its systems are designed to support the fabrication of integrated circuits and other electronic components, with a primary focus on cleaning and other process steps performed during semiconductor manufacturing.

The company's product portfolio includes single-wafer cleaning systems, wet-cleaning equipment, electrochemical plating systems, and other wafer-processing tools. These products are used by semiconductor manufacturers and foundries in applications involving advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices.

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