The 180-day lockup period for ACM Research, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACMR) ends on May 2, 2018. When this six-month period ends, the company's pre-IPO shareholders will have the opportunity to sell large blocks of previously restricted shares. We believe that they are likely eager to do so – ACMR has a return from IPO of more than 110%.

More than 12 million shares of ACMR are subject to lockup agreements. Just 3 million shares of ACMR are currently freely tradeable.

(Source: S-1/A)

The potential for a sudden increase in the volume of shares traded on the secondary market could negatively impact the stock price of ACMR in the short-term when the lockup expires.

Currently, ACMR trades in the $12 to $13 range. Shares of ACM Research had a first day return of 8.0%.

Business Overview: Provider of Single Wafer Wet Cleaning Equipment for Integrated Chips

ACM Research develops, makes, and markets single wafer wet cleaning equipment for integrated chips. Its cleaning equipment is used by semiconductor manufacturers worldwide throughout the manufacturing process to remove contaminants, particles, and other microscopic detritus from wafers. This improves the product yields in the manufacture of advanced integrated circuits, also known as chips.

The company's offerings include space alternated phase of mega-sonic waves that uniformly distribute mega-sonic energy to both patterned and flat water surfaces at the microscopic level. ACM Research also offers energized bubble oscillation equipment for cleaning of conventional patterned wafers that are either two dimensional or three dimensional, and it sells custom-made packaging and wafer assembly equipment. Its proprietary Ultra C product works to remove defects from the surface of a wafer without damage to the wafer or its features even at widths as small as 22 nanometers or less. The company believes this capability gives it a competitive edge in a sector that is expected to reach $3.7 billion in 2020.