Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of ACM Research Call Options (NASDAQ:ACMR)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity hit ACM Research, with investors buying 16,046 call options on Thursday, about 291% above the stock’s average call volume.
• The stock fell $1.47 to $70.13 on the day, but it remains near its 52-week high of $72.69 and well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• ACM Research recently reported better-than-expected earnings, posting $0.34 EPS on revenue of $231.26 million, while analysts currently have a Hold consensus with an average price target of $40.00.

ACM Research, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACMR - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 16,046 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 291% compared to the average volume of 4,099 call options.

ACM Research Price Performance

ACMR traded down $1.47 on Thursday, reaching $70.13. The stock had a trading volume of 312,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,413,765. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $50.50 and a 200-day moving average of $47.72. The company has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.73 and a beta of 1.82. ACM Research has a fifty-two week low of $21.87 and a fifty-two week high of $72.69. The company has a current ratio of 3.51, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

ACM Research (NASDAQ:ACMR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $231.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 34.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ACM Research will post 1.2 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ACM Research from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research cut ACM Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on ACM Research in a research note on Monday, May 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of ACM Research from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ACM Research currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles C. Pappis sold 5,000 shares of ACM Research stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $260,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $260,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tracy Liu sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.91, for a total transaction of $718,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 110,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,307,086.52. The trade was a 11.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 65,000 shares of company stock worth $3,110,750. 25.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in shares of ACM Research by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 7,764 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of ACM Research by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 22,851 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $901,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. First Growth Capital LLC increased its position in shares of ACM Research by 5.4% during the first quarter. First Growth Capital LLC now owns 5,598 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of ACM Research by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,070 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of ACM Research by 90.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. 66.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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