ACM Research (NASDAQ:ACMR) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

ACM Research, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACMR) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $65.30, but opened at $72.84. ACM Research shares last traded at $75.4760, with a volume of 199,136 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ACMR shares. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on ACM Research in a report on Monday, May 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $90.00) on shares of ACM Research in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Roth Capital set a $125.00 price objective on ACM Research and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Zacks Research cut ACM Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ACM Research in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.50.

ACM Research Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $92.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.90 and a beta of 1.90.

ACM Research (NASDAQ:ACMR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.08. ACM Research had a return on equity of 4.17% and a net margin of 9.48%.The firm had revenue of $231.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $215.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that ACM Research, Inc. will post 1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at ACM Research

In other news, insider Sotheara Cheav sold 5,399 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.18, for a total transaction of $449,088.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 100,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,318,166.36. This trade represents a 5.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Haiping Dun sold 5,000 shares of ACM Research stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.22, for a total value of $331,100.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $331,100. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 123,752 shares of company stock valued at $10,752,198 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 24.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ACM Research

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in ACM Research by 16,878.8% in the first 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. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of ACM Research by 444.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,342,136 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,634 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of ACM Research by 1,406.4% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,082,982 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $42,740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011,088 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of ACM Research by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,392,306 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $54,926,000 after purchasing an additional 515,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of ACM Research by 207.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 719,023 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,286,000 after purchasing an additional 485,282 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.75% of the company’s stock.

ACM Research Company Profile

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.