Jefferies upgraded ACM Research (NASDAQ:ACMR) from Hold to Buy and raised its price target from $9 per share to $23.40. As a result, shares jumped more than 13% intra-day today.
Analysts cited the relaxation of DUV (deep ultraviolet) rules in China’s fab CapEx as the basis for the rating change. The recent announcement by the Dutch government regarding the export rules for ASML’s oldest Arf immersion machine, NXT1980Di, is expected to facilitate the export of this equipment to China.
The analysts believe that China will take advantage of this opportunity to purchase as much equipment as possible, given the machine’s capability to produce 16/14nm and even 7/5nm. As a result, Jefferies also increased its revenue forecast for ACM Research for the years 2023 to 2026 by 23%, positioning it 8% above Street estimates.