Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Raises Position in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,686 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Axcelis Technologies were worth $747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 1,153.8% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 489 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 1,415.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 85.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 627 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 184.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palouse Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Axcelis Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,000. 89.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ACLS. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Craig Hallum lowered their price objective on Axcelis Technologies from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, William Blair downgraded Axcelis Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.00.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Performance

NASDAQ ACLS opened at $50.96 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $60.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.41 and a quick ratio of 4.05. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.23 and a 1 year high of $158.61. The company has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of 8.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.62.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The semiconductor company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.29. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 21.02% and a net margin of 19.75%. As a group, analysts expect that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Axcelis Technologies announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 12th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Axcelis Technologies

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.