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

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is mixed on Axcelis Technologies, with six analysts giving it a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 12-month price target of $116.25. Recent note changes included an upgrade from B. Riley Financial to buy, while other firms adjusted ratings more cautiously.
• Axcelis reported better-than-expected quarterly results, earning $0.72 per share versus the $0.71 estimate on revenue of $198.96 million, up 3.3% year over year. The company also issued Q2 2026 guidance and the stock recently traded near $150.42, above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Insider selling and heavy institutional ownership were notable in the report. Executives and directors sold shares in recent weeks, while hedge funds and other institutions own about 89.98% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the six analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $116.25.

A number of analysts recently commented on ACLS shares. B. Riley Financial upgraded Axcelis Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Axcelis Technologies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Axcelis Technologies from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th.

Axcelis Technologies Price Performance

Shares of ACLS stock opened at $150.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.86, a P/E/G ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 1.91. Axcelis Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $56.19 and a fifty-two week high of $171.61. The business's 50 day moving average price is $129.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.99 and a current ratio of 4.59.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.01. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 12.19% and a net margin of 11.93%.The company had revenue of $198.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Axcelis Technologies has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.900- EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Axcelis Technologies will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Axcelis Technologies

In related news, EVP Christopher Tatnall sold 1,166 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.75, for a total transaction of $174,608.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 27,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,137,143.25. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeanne Quirk sold 1,789 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.22, for a total value of $250,853.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,598,508. The trade was a 13.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 34,453 shares of company stock valued at $5,211,694 in the last 90 days. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Axcelis Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ACLS. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Axcelis Technologies by 85.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,807,404 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $145,207,000 after buying an additional 835,242 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Axcelis Technologies by 3,402.5% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 491,745 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $45,772,000 after buying an additional 477,705 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Axcelis Technologies in the third quarter worth about $30,747,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Axcelis Technologies by 176.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 386,735 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $37,761,000 after buying an additional 246,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Axcelis Technologies by 10,368.7% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 243,503 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $19,563,000 after buying an additional 241,177 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.98% of the company's stock.

Axcelis Technologies Company Profile

Axcelis Technologies, Inc is a leading developer and manufacturer of ion implantation and cleaning equipment used in the fabrication of semiconductor chips. The company specializes in high-current, medium-current and high-energy ion implantation systems, which are critical for introducing precisely controlled dopants into silicon wafers. Axcelis also offers plasma-based cleaning and dry strip tools that support advanced process nodes in logic, memory and power device manufacturing.

The company's product portfolio encompasses single-wafer and multi-wafer cluster tools designed to deliver high throughput, accuracy and uniformity for semiconductor process steps.

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