Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $131.00.

Separately, B. Riley reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a report on Monday, April 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John T. Kurtzweil sold 1,682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.93, for a total value of $104,166.26. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,170,646.50. This represents a 4.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axcelis Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 90.6% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 364 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 118.7% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 584 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 160.5% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 581 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 467 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Axcelis Technologies in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

Axcelis Technologies Trading Down 5.6%

NASDAQ ACLS opened at $65.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 4.05 and a current ratio of 5.41. Axcelis Technologies has a one year low of $40.40 and a one year high of $158.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.52.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.65. The company had revenue of $192.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.86 million. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 21.02% and a net margin of 19.75%. Axcelis Technologies’s quarterly revenue was down 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Axcelis Technologies will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Axcelis Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 12th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign 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.