Amtech Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASYS) Short Interest Up 5.4% in March

Amtech Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASYS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 68,900 shares, an increase of 5.4% from the March 15th total of 65,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 75,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Amtech Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amtech Systems

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Amtech Systems by 39.0% during the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 574,346 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,377,000 after buying an additional 161,267 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amtech Systems during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amtech Systems by 2.0% during the third quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 126,838 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $967,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Amtech Systems by 48.3% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 26,700 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 8,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, White Pine Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amtech Systems by 54.3% during the third quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 30,450 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 10,722 shares during the period. 50.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amtech Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASYS traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $4.84. 15,955 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 73,843. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $68.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.52 and a beta of 1.46. Amtech Systems has a 12-month low of $3.37 and a 12-month high of $11.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $4.82 and a 200 day moving average of $5.61.

Amtech Systems (NASDAQ:ASYS) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.08. Amtech Systems had a negative return on equity of 1.15% and a negative net margin of 16.45%. The company had revenue of $24.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.00 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Amtech Systems will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current year.

About Amtech Systems

Amtech Systems, Inc manufactures and sells capital equipment and related consumables for use in fabricating silicon carbide (SiC), silicon power devices, analog and discrete devices, electronic assemblies, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) worldwide. The company operates through Semiconductor and Material and Substrate segments.