ACM Research (NASDAQ:ACMR) Stock Sees Unusually High Call Option Buying

ACM Research, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACMR) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 33,598 call options on the company. This is an increase of 394% compared to the average volume of 6,798 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Roth Capital set a $125.00 price target on ACM Research and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $90.00) on shares of ACM Research in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of ACM Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Daiwa Securities Group initiated coverage on shares of ACM Research in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $136.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of ACM Research from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.75.

ACM Research Price Performance

Shares of ACMR traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.38. 326,173 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,385,840. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $77.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.61. ACM Research has a 12-month low of $28.46 and a 12-month high of $127.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 3.66. The company has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.85 and a beta of 1.96.

ACM Research (NASDAQ:ACMR) 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. ACM Research had a return on equity of 4.08% and a net margin of 14.48%.The company had revenue of $292.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $269.28 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that ACM Research will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ACM Research news, Director Haiping Dun sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.13, for a total value of $405,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $405,650. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider David H. Wang sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.59, for a total transaction of $5,221,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 802,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,873,989.72. This trade represents a 8.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 24.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ACM Research

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in ACM Research in the 4th quarter valued at $1,054,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its position in shares of ACM Research by 71.8% during the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 188,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,436,000 after acquiring an additional 78,800 shares during the last quarter. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new stake in shares of ACM Research in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,222,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in ACM Research by 32.4% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 63,131 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,484,000 after purchasing an additional 15,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in ACM Research by 73.7% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 373,987 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $14,716,000 after purchasing an additional 158,664 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.75% of the company’s stock.

About ACM Research

ACM Research, Inc develops, manufactures and sells equipment used in semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging. Its products are designed for wafer processing steps that help semiconductor manufacturers clean, prepare and deposit materials on silicon wafers and other substrates.

The company’s product portfolio includes single-wafer cleaning systems, wet-processing equipment, electrochemical deposition systems, furnace systems and equipment for advanced packaging applications. Its cleaning technologies include the Space Alternated Phase Shift (SAPS) and Tahoe platforms, which are intended to remove contaminants and residues while supporting the production of increasingly complex semiconductor devices.

Founded in 1998, ACM Research is headquartered in Fremont, California, and serves semiconductor manufacturers and other customers through operations and facilities in the United States, China and other international markets.