Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $154.00.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. William Blair downgraded shares of Axcelis Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Craig Hallum dropped their target price on Axcelis Technologies from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Institutional Trading of Axcelis Technologies

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 157.3% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 11,094 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after buying an additional 6,782 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Axcelis Technologies by 1.1% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 81,177 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,511,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Axcelis Technologies during the third quarter worth about $1,304,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Axcelis Technologies in the third quarter worth about $69,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Down 2.4 %

ACLS stock opened at $56.15 on Wednesday. Axcelis Technologies has a 1-year low of $53.67 and a 1-year high of $158.61. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.10. The company has a current ratio of 5.41, a quick ratio of 4.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 9.13, a PEG ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.62.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The semiconductor company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.29. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 19.75% and a return on equity of 21.02%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Axcelis Technologies will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Axcelis Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 12th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Axcelis Technologies Company Profile

Axcelis Technologies, Inc designs, manufactures, and services ion implantation and other processing equipment used in the fabrication of semiconductor chips in the United States, Europe, and Asia Pacific. The company offers high energy, high current, and medium current implanters for various application requirements.