Exploring ACM Research, Inc. (ACMR) Investor Profile: Who’s Buying and Why?

You're watching ACM Research, Inc. (ACMR) and wondering why the stock is so volatile-one day it's up on a revenue beat, the next it's down on margin fears-so what are the big players really doing? Honestly, the institutional money is already heavily committed, holding a 69% stake in the company, with giants like BlackRock, Inc. being the largest shareholder, having recently boosted their position by over 84% in Q3 2025 alone, showing a clear long-term conviction. The core story is that ACM Research is successfully diversifying beyond its core cleaning business, with Q3 2025 revenue hitting $269.2 million, a 32% jump year-over-year, but that growth is expensive. Here's the quick math: the GAAP gross margin contracted sharply to 42.0% from 51.4% a year ago, reflecting the cost of launching new, advanced tools for high-growth areas like advanced packaging. The question isn't whether they can grow-their full-year 2025 revenue guidance is still a robust $875 million to $925 million-but whether they can scale profitability while navigating US-China trade tensions.

Who Invests in ACM Research, Inc. (ACMR) and Why?

If you're looking at ACM Research, Inc. (ACMR), you're looking at a classic growth story in the semiconductor equipment space, and the investor profile reflects that: it's dominated by large institutions with a clear appetite for high-growth tech. The direct takeaway is that institutional money, particularly passive funds, holds the majority stake, but active funds are driving significant trading volume based on the company's strong 2025 financial performance.

As of the most recent filings (Q3 2025), institutional investors-think mutual funds, pension funds, and major asset managers-own the lion's share, controlling approximately 69% of the company's stock. This is a significant level of professional backing. The remaining ownership is split between insiders (around 12%) and individual retail investors. This high institutional concentration means the stock's price movements are heavily influenced by the decisions of a few hundred major firms.

The Institutional Heavyweights: Passive and Active Funds

The largest shareholders are exactly who you'd expect in a growing technology stock that's part of major indices. These are the passive giants, the ones who buy and hold for the long haul, essentially betting on the entire market. BlackRock, Inc. is the top holder, with a Q3 2025 stake of over 7.58 million shares, making up about 12% of the shares outstanding. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is right behind them, holding over 4.84 million shares. That's a lot of conviction from the firms that define modern portfolio management.

• BlackRock, Inc.: Top holder, over 7.58 million shares.
• The Vanguard Group, Inc.: Second largest, over 4.84 million shares.
• LSV Asset Management: Major Q3 2025 buyer, adding over 2.05 million shares.

On the active side, you see hedge funds and asset managers making more tactical, short-term moves. For example, LSV Asset Management significantly increased its position in Q3 2025, adding over 2.05 million shares, demonstrating a strong belief in the near-term trajectory. But you also see notable reductions, like Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp. removing 942,382 shares in the same quarter. This mixed activity is defintely a sign of an active, debated stock.

Investment Motivations: Growth, Margin, and Cash

The core motivation for buying ACM Research, Inc. is clear: it's a pure-play growth story in a critical sector-semiconductor equipment. The company's 2025 financials provide the concrete evidence for this thesis.

Here's the quick math: the company's Q3 2025 revenue was $269.16 million, representing a substantial 32% year-over-year increase. This strong demand for its single-wafer cleaning and advanced packaging tools is why investors are interested. The company's full-year 2025 revenue guidance was adjusted to a range of $875 million to $925 million. That's a solid outlook, even with the global trade policy headwinds the company mentions.

What this estimate hides is the company's operational efficiency. The Q3 2025 gross margin was very strong at 49.4%, signaling excellent cost management and pricing power. Plus, the balance sheet is robust, with cash and equivalents surging to over $1.09 billion as of September 30, 2025. Since the company does not pay a dividend, this cash is expected to fuel future R&D and expansion, which is exactly what growth investors want to see. For a deeper dive into the numbers, you should read Breaking Down ACM Research, Inc. (ACMR) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Investment Strategies: Growth, Momentum, and Long-Term Holding

The strategies at play are primarily long-term holding and momentum investing. The significant one-year total return of 68.2% as of November 2025, which outperformed the S&P 500 by 57 percentage points, attracts momentum traders and growth funds. They are buying on the expectation that the stock's trend will continue, driven by the semiconductor industry's long-term secular growth.

The large stakes held by index funds like BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc. are the foundation of the long-term holding strategy. These funds are essentially permanent capital, providing a stable base for the stock. Their mandate is to mirror the market, so they hold the stock as long as it remains in their benchmark indices. Value investors, on the other hand, might be more cautious, given the forward P/E ratio is higher than the trailing P/E, suggesting future earnings growth is already priced in. Still, for a growth company, a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 2.59 is considered moderate by many in the sector.

Next step: Portfolio managers should evaluate their current exposure to the semiconductor equipment sector and compare ACM Research, Inc.'s growth metrics against peers like KLA Corporation and Lam Research Corporation by Friday.

Institutional Ownership and Major Shareholders of ACM Research, Inc. (ACMR)

The investor profile for ACM Research, Inc. (ACMR) is heavily weighted toward institutional money, which means these large funds are your primary co-investors and have a major say in the company's direction. As of late 2025, institutional investors collectively own a substantial portion of the company, with figures ranging from 66.75% to 69% of the shares outstanding. This high concentration means their investment decisions-buying or selling-defintely drive the stock's near-term price action.

For context, the top 10 to 11 shareholders alone control about 51% of the business, a level of concentration that gives them significant leverage in board decisions and corporate strategy. This is not just passive money; these are active stakeholders whose research teams have done the deep-dive work on the company's technology and market position.

Top Institutional Investors and Their Stakes

When you look at the shareholder registry, the list is a who's who of global asset managers, which is a good sign for stability, even in a volatile sector like semiconductor equipment. The largest institutional holder of ACM Research, Inc. stock is currently BlackRock, Inc., which holds an estimated 12% of the shares outstanding as of November 2025. This is a massive position for an asset manager of BlackRock, Inc.'s size.

Right behind them are other giants of the investment world. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is a major holder, with its various funds holding a significant stake, estimated to be around 9.2% to 6.7% of the stock, depending on the specific filing date. These two firms alone-BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc.-are often the backbone of institutional ownership in many publicly traded companies.

Here is a snapshot of some of the largest institutional owners and their primary focus:

• BlackRock, Inc.: Largest holder, often through passive index funds and active strategies.
• The Vanguard Group, Inc.: Second largest, with a mix of index and actively managed funds.
• Triata Capital Ltd: An active asset manager that recently boosted its stake.
• State Street Corp: Another major custodian and index fund provider.

Recent Shifts in Institutional Ownership (2025 Fiscal Year)

The institutional sentiment around ACM Research, Inc. has been mixed but generally positive on net inflows, reflecting the company's mixed Q3 2025 results where revenue of $269.16 million beat expectations, but EPS of $0.36 missed the consensus of $0.47. Over the third quarter of 2025, there was a slight balance in activity: 132 institutional investors added shares, while 139 decreased their positions. That's a very tight spread.

Here's the quick math on some of the biggest recent moves, which tell a more detailed story than the overall count:

• LSV ASSET MANAGEMENT made a massive bet, adding 2,059,405 shares in Q3 2025, a jump of over 462.9%.
• MITSUBISHI UFJ TRUST & BANKING CORP went the other way, removing 942,382 shares in Q3 2025, a 40.9% reduction.
• The Vanguard Group, Inc. continued to accumulate, adding 549,971 shares in Q3 2025, an increase of 12.8%.
• Triata Capital Ltd showed confidence early in the year, boosting its position by 33.5% in Q1 2025, purchasing an additional 344,158 shares.

You can see the push and pull here: some funds are aggressively accumulating, probably on the back of the company's full-year 2025 revenue guidance of $875 million to $925 million, while others are trimming their exposure.

The Impact of Large Investors on Stock and Strategy

The sheer volume of institutional ownership means these entities play a critical, dual role in both the stock's valuation and the company's strategic direction. When institutions hold a majority stake-nearly 70% in this case-their collective action can cause significant price swings. For example, if two or three major funds decide to liquidate a large block of shares simultaneously, the stock price will drop sharply, regardless of company news.

On the strategy side, their influence is substantial. Since they own such a large percentage, the board of directors and management, including CEO Hui Wang, who is a significant shareholder himself, must pay close attention to their preferences. This influence can manifest in several ways:

• Capital Allocation: Pushing for share buybacks or specific dividend policies.
• Executive Compensation: Influencing pay structures to align with long-term shareholder value.
• Strategic Direction: Encouraging or discouraging major acquisitions or new market entries.

Their long-term presence suggests confidence in the company's core business model, which is a crucial validation for individual investors. If you want to dig deeper into the company's fundamentals that these institutions are evaluating, you should check out Breaking Down ACM Research, Inc. (ACMR) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

The high institutional ownership is a double-edged sword: it provides stability and validation, but it also means you're investing alongside a few very large players who can move the market quickly. Your action item is to track the quarterly 13F filings for the top five holders to see if they are accumulating or distributing shares; that's your best near-term indicator.

Key Investors and Their Impact on ACM Research, Inc. (ACMR)

The investor profile for ACM Research, Inc. (ACMR) is heavily weighted toward institutional money, which means major fund managers, not individual retail traders, are the primary drivers of long-term stock stability and company policy. This concentration of ownership gives a handful of major institutions significant sway over the firm's strategic direction.

As of the most recent filings (Q3 2025), institutional investors collectively hold between 66.75% and 69% of the company's shares outstanding. This is a huge block of ownership. To be fair, the top 11 shareholders control about 51% of that, so no single entity has a majority, but the board defintely pays attention to this group.

The Notable Institutional Buyers and Sellers

You can see the conviction-or lack thereof-in the recent movements from some of the world's largest asset managers. BlackRock, Inc. is the largest single shareholder, holding a significant 12% of the shares outstanding. This isn't just a passive index fund stake; it's a substantial position that signals a long-term belief in the company's semiconductor equipment story.

The third quarter of 2025 saw some aggressive portfolio rebalancing among the big players, which gives you a clear map of who's buying the growth narrative and who is taking profits.

• BlackRock, Inc.: Added a massive 3,481,447 shares in Q3 2025, an increase of 84.8%, indicating strong confidence in the company's execution and market position.
• LSV Asset Management: Showed an even more dramatic increase, adding 2,059,405 shares, a whopping 462.9% increase in their holding.
• Vanguard Group Inc: Also increased its stake, adding 549,971 shares in Q3 2025.

Here's the quick math: these major purchases are a vote of confidence in ACM Research, Inc.'s ability to hit its narrowed 2025 revenue guidance of $875 million to $925 million. The smart money is buying into the growth story, especially after the company's Q3 2025 revenue came in strong at $269.2 million.

Recent Moves and the Influence on Valuation

While the inflows were strong, not every institution was a buyer. We saw some notable selling, which is a natural part of portfolio management, especially after a stock has seen significant appreciation. These sales can create temporary downward pressure, but they don't necessarily signal a fundamental problem.

Key selling activity in Q3 2025 included:

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp: Reduced its position by 942,382 shares, a 40.9% decrease.
• Invesco Ltd.: Removed 579,487 shares, a substantial 70.2% cut.

What this estimate hides is the context of these sales. For index funds, a sale might be a simple rebalancing to match the index weight, not a commentary on the company itself. Still, when a firm like Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cuts nearly half its stake, it's worth a second look.

The influence of these investors is straightforward: their large-scale buying and selling creates the momentum that drives the stock price in the near term. When BlackRock, Inc. and LSV Asset Management move in with multi-million dollar trades, the market listens. This is why following institutional ownership trends is a core part of my analysis, and it's something you should track closely for ACM Research, Inc. (ACMR). For a deeper dive into the company's foundation, check out ACM Research, Inc. (ACMR): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money.

A minor but important detail is the insider selling. Lisa Feng, an insider, sold 15,000 shares in mid-November 2025 for a total value of approximately $506,550.00. Insider sales are often less about a lack of faith and more about personal liquidity, but it's a data point you can't ignore when evaluating sentiment.

The bottom line is that the institutional herd is moving toward a greater stake in ACM Research, Inc., a strong signal that they see more upside in the semiconductor equipment sector's future.

Market Impact and Investor Sentiment

You want to know who is buying ACM Research, Inc. (ACMR) and why the stock moves when they do. The short answer is institutions-like BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc.-hold the majority stake, and their sentiment is largely positive, but with a clear undercurrent of caution around insider selling and geopolitical risk.

Institutional investors own a substantial 66.75% to 69% of the company, giving them significant influence over the share price. The top shareholders, including BlackRock, Inc. with up to a 12% stake and The Vanguard Group, Inc., anchor the stock, suggesting a long-term belief in the semiconductor equipment sector's growth trajectory. For a deeper dive into the company's background, you can check out ACM Research, Inc. (ACMR): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money.

The Mixed Signal of Institutional and Insider Moves

The recent flow of money is a bit of a tug-of-war. In the third quarter of 2025, we saw massive accumulation by some funds, like LSV ASSET MANAGEMENT adding over 2.05 million shares, a position valued at an estimated $80.58 million. Plus, Seldon Capital LP initiated a new, bullish position of 193,242 shares, valued around $7.56 million. That's a strong vote of confidence.

But still, you can't ignore the significant insider sales. Over the last six months, there have been zero insider purchases, only sales. For example, CEO David H. Wang sold 260,000 shares for an estimated $6.47 million. This pattern of executives selling while institutions buy is a classic divergence, and it defintely warrants your attention.

• Institutions hold the power, owning up to 69% of shares.
• Top 11 shareholders control roughly 51% of the company.
• Insider ownership is high at around 12% to 20%, but they are selling.

Recent Market Reactions: The S&P 600 Effect and Q3 Volatility

The stock's performance in 2025 has been impressive, delivering a one-year total return of 68.2% as of mid-November. A major catalyst was the September 26, 2025, inclusion into the S&P SmallCap 600 index, which forced index-tracking funds to buy shares, sending a positive ripple through the market. The stock even hit a 52-week high of $45.12 in October.

However, the market reacted with volatility to the Q3 2025 earnings report. The company reported revenue of $269.16 million, which beat analyst estimates, but its diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.36 missed the consensus of $0.47. Here's the quick math: revenue beat, but the earnings miss, likely due to higher costs or a shift in product mix, caused the stock to drop about 3.5% immediately after the announcement. Investors are clearly focused on the bottom line, not just the top-line growth.

Analyst Perspectives on Key Investors and Future Outlook

Wall Street analysts maintain a consensus of 'Moderate Buy' for ACM Research, Inc., though some firms lean toward a 'Strong Buy.' This is a realistic view, balancing the company's strong growth with its primary risk: heavy reliance on the China market and the potential impact of U.S. export restrictions.

The average 12-month price target is a bit split, ranging from $29.75 to a more optimistic $43.55, with the highest forecast at $52.30. This wide range shows the debate around the China exposure. The bullish case is anchored on the company's own full-year 2025 revenue guidance of between $875 million and $925 million, which represents robust year-over-year growth.

The institutional commitment, especially from passive giants like BlackRock, Inc., suggests they are betting on the long-term success of the company's core technology-single-wafer wet cleaning equipment-to overcome near-term geopolitical friction. They see the company's differentiated cleaning and plating solutions as essential for next-generation semiconductor manufacturing.