Analyzing ACM Research (NASDAQ:ACMR) and Rambus (NASDAQ:RMBS)

ACM Research (NASDAQ:ACMR) and Rambus (NASDAQ:RMBS) are both technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

66.7% of ACM Research shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.5% of Rambus shares are owned by institutional investors. 24.4% of ACM Research shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Rambus shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

ACM Research has a beta of 2.09, indicating that its share price is 109% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rambus has a beta of 1.85, indicating that its share price is 85% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares ACM Research and Rambus’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ACM Research	14.48%	4.08%	2.80%
Rambus	31.69%	17.89%	16.21%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares ACM Research and Rambus”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ACM Research	$901.31 million	5.12	$94.08 million	$2.10	33.99
Rambus	$756.33 million	15.41	$230.46 million	$2.18	49.30

Rambus has lower revenue, but higher earnings than ACM Research. ACM Research is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Rambus, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for ACM Research and Rambus, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ACM Research	0	1	5	0	2.83
Rambus	0	4	6	0	2.60

ACM Research currently has a consensus target price of $122.75, suggesting a potential upside of 71.99%. Rambus has a consensus target price of $145.88, suggesting a potential upside of 35.74%. Given ACM Research’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe ACM Research is more favorable than Rambus.

Summary

Rambus beats ACM Research on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ACM Research

ACM Research, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells single-wafer wet cleaning equipment for enhancing the manufacturing process and yield for integrated chips worldwide. It offers space alternated phase shift technology for flat and patterned wafer surfaces, which employs alternating phases of megasonic waves to deliver megasonic energy in a uniform manner on a microscopic level; timely energized bubble oscillation technology for patterned wafer surfaces at advanced process nodes, which provides cleaning for 2D and 3D patterned wafers; Tahoe technology for delivering cleaning performance using less sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide; and electro-chemical plating technology for advanced metal plating. The company markets and sells its products under the SAPS, TEBO, ULTRA C, ULTRA Fn, Ultra ECP, Ultra ECP map, and Ultra ECP ap trademarks through direct sales force and third-party representatives. ACM Research, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.

About Rambus

Rambus Inc. provides semiconductor products in the United States, South Korea, Singapore, and internationally. The company offers DDR memory interface chips, including DDR5 and DDR4 memory interface chips to module manufacturers, OEMs, and hyperscalers; silicon IP, such as interface and security IP solutions that move and protect data in advanced data center, government, and automotive applications; and interface IP solutions for high-speed memory and chip-to-chip digital controller IP. It also provides a portfolios of security IP solutions, including crypto cores, hardware roots of trust, high-speed protocol engines, and chip provisioning technologies; and portfolio of patents that covers memory architecture, high-speed serial links, and security products. It markets its products and services through its direct sales force and distributors. Rambus Inc. was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.