Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $82.74, but opened at $89.44. Axcelis Technologies shares last traded at $84.91, with a volume of 354,109 shares changing hands.

The semiconductor company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $252.42 million during the quarter. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 17.69% and a return on equity of 16.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson upped their price target on Axcelis Technologies from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Bank of America cut shares of Axcelis Technologies from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $81.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, October 13th. Zacks Research cut shares of Axcelis Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Axcelis Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, B. Riley lowered their price target on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ACLS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,439,902 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $220,530,000 after buying an additional 43,768 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 45.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,659,463 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $115,648,000 after buying an additional 518,968 shares during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 6.0% in the third quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,610,332 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $157,234,000 after buying an additional 91,788 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 2.1% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 852,296 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $59,397,000 after buying an additional 17,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 2.4% in the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 845,911 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $58,952,000 after buying an additional 19,579 shares during the last quarter. 89.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Axcelis Technologies Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 4.26, a current ratio of 6.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 1.75. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.83.

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.