Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Axcelis hit a new 52-week high after B. Riley upgraded the stock from Neutral to Buy and set a $150 price target, with shares trading around $124–$126 on the move.
• Quarterly results beat estimates—Q4 EPS $1.49 vs. $1.12 consensus and revenue $238.3M vs. $215.0M—but revenue was down 5.6% year‑over‑year and Q1 guidance was set at $0.71 EPS.
• Analyst and insider dynamics are mixed: the consensus rating is an average "Hold" with a $116.25 target, several firms recently downgraded the stock, insiders have sold shares, and institutional ownership is high (~90%).

Shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Monday after B. Riley Financial upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. B. Riley Financial now has a $150.00 price target on the stock. Axcelis Technologies traded as high as $124.19 and last traded at $126.2780, with a volume of 93277 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.73.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ACLS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on Axcelis Technologies from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research downgraded Axcelis Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Axcelis Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axcelis Technologies

In related news, Director Jorge Titinger sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $518,160. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Low sold 1,244 shares of Axcelis Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total transaction of $117,010.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 132,282 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,442,444.92. This represents a 0.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 85.9% in 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 during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 6.0% during the third quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,610,332 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $157,234,000 after acquiring an additional 91,788 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 841,040 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $67,570,000 after acquiring an additional 71,428 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $31,560,000 after acquiring an additional 44,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.98% of the company's stock.

Axcelis Technologies Trading Up 5.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.77 and a quick ratio of 3.11. The stock's 50-day moving average is $92.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.89. The stock has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 1.65.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The semiconductor company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $238.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $215.04 million. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 13.73% and a net margin of 14.33%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. Axcelis Technologies has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.710-0.710 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

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.

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