Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Craig Hallum

Key Points

• Craig Hallum downgraded Axcelis Technologies to “Hold” from “Buy” and set a $140 price target, implying about 2.44% upside from the prior close. The analyst consensus remains “Hold,” with an average target of $132.20.
• Axcelis exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.06 EPS versus the $0.89 estimate and revenue of $215.18 million versus $205.03 million. Revenue rose 10.6% year over year, though EPS declined from $1.13 in the prior-year quarter.
• Insiders sold 26,083 shares worth approximately $4.0 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own a substantial 89.98% of the stock.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Craig Hallum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $140.00 target price on the semiconductor company's stock. Craig Hallum's price target points to a potential upside of 2.44% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research upgraded Axcelis Technologies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. B. Riley Financial upgraded shares of Axcelis Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $130.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Axcelis Technologies from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Axcelis Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.20.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Axcelis Technologies stock opened at $136.66 on Friday. Axcelis Technologies has a one year low of $73.60 and a one year high of $193.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.57, a PEG ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 1.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.59 and a quick ratio of 2.99.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.17. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 12.19% and a net margin of 11.93%.The business had revenue of $215.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Axcelis Technologies has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.110-1.110 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Axcelis Technologies will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Axcelis Technologies

In other Axcelis Technologies news, Director Gregory B. Graves sold 3,225 shares of Axcelis Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.61, for a total transaction of $456,692.25. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at $775,031.53. The trade was a 37.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Todd Sutton sold 2,574 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.89, for a total transaction of $421,852.86. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 7,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,281,128.13. The trade was a 24.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 26,083 shares of company stock valued at $4,001,032 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 85.9% during the 4th 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 0.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 844,097 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $78,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,057 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 7.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 635,393 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $31,560,000 after acquiring an additional 44,275 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 3,402.5% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 491,745 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $45,772,000 after acquiring an additional 477,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 478,897 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $38,475,000 after acquiring an additional 92,162 shares during the period. 89.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Axcelis Technologies

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source