Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday morning.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on ACLS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research note on Monday, December 8th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Axcelis Technologies from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Benchmark raised Axcelis Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded Axcelis Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, B. Riley lowered their price objective on Axcelis Technologies from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axcelis Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.80.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of ACLS opened at $86.32 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $83.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.71. Axcelis Technologies has a one year low of $40.40 and a one year high of $102.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a current ratio of 4.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41 and a beta of 1.73.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The semiconductor company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $252.42 million for the quarter. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 15.93% and a return on equity of 14.58%. Equities research analysts forecast that Axcelis Technologies will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Axcelis Technologies news, EVP Gerald M. Blumenstock sold 3,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.46, for a total transaction of $271,421.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,669,413.06. This trade represents a 13.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axcelis Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ACLS. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,659,463 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $115,648,000 after purchasing an additional 518,968 shares during the last quarter. BlackBarn Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 758.0% during the first quarter. BlackBarn Capital Partners LP now owns 480,441 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $23,864,000 after buying an additional 424,444 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $30,747,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 176.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 386,735 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $37,761,000 after acquiring an additional 246,939 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 143.8% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 261,776 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,560,000 after acquiring an additional 154,381 shares during the period. 89.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.