B. Riley Issues Positive Forecast for Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) Stock Price

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by research analysts at B. Riley from $58.00 to $75.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the semiconductor company's stock. B. Riley's target price points to a potential upside of 13.60% from the stock's current price.

Axcelis Technologies Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ ACLS traded down $0.87 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $66.02. 588,079 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 655,850. Axcelis Technologies has a 12-month low of $40.40 and a 12-month high of $158.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 4.08 and a current ratio of 5.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $57.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.47. The firm has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 1.52.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.65. The company had revenue of $192.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $184.86 million. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 18.58% and a return on equity of 18.55%. Axcelis Technologies's quarterly revenue was down 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Axcelis Technologies will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Axcelis Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, March 12th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John T. Kurtzweil sold 1,682 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.93, for a total transaction of $104,166.26. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,050 shares in the company, valued at $2,170,646.50. This represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axcelis Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,540 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 90.6% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 364 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 9.2% during the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 2,675 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 3.8% during the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 7,585 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 16.3% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.98% of the company's stock.

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.