Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $131.00.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair cut shares of Axcelis Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $50.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research note on Monday, April 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Axcelis Technologies news, Director John T. Kurtzweil sold 1,682 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.93, for a total value of $104,166.26. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,170,646.50. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axcelis Technologies

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,540 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 90.6% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 364 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 9.2% in the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 2,675 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 7,585 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. 89.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axcelis Technologies Price Performance

ACLS stock traded up $0.98 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $68.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 610,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 657,357. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $54.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.86. Axcelis Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $40.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.61. The stock has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 11.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.52.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.65. The firm had revenue of $192.56 million for 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%. The firm's revenue was down 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Axcelis Technologies will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Axcelis Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, March 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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.