Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) Sets New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• 52-week high: ACLS hit a new 52-week high of $114.84 (last traded ~$112.57), yet analysts are split with a consensus "Hold" and an average price target of $101.50 (2 Buy / 2 Hold / 2 Sell) after several recent downgrades.
• Earnings beat but mixed outlook: Axcelis reported Q4 EPS of $1.49 (vs. $1.12 est.) and revenue of $238.3M (vs. $215.0M est.), though revenue was down 5.6% year-over-year and Q1 2026 EPS guidance was set at $0.71.
• Insider activity and ownership: The CEO and a director recently sold shares (CEO sale under a Rule 10b5-1 plan); insiders own 0.48% of the stock while institutional investors hold about 89.98%.

Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $114.84 and last traded at $112.5660, with a volume of 64522 shares. The stock had previously closed at $110.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ACLS shares. Zacks Research lowered Axcelis Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Axcelis Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Bank of America boosted 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, B. Riley Financial dropped their target price on Axcelis Technologies from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $101.50.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Up 1.8%

The firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 1.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $89.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 3.11 and a current ratio of 4.77.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The semiconductor company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $238.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $215.04 million. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 13.73% and a net margin of 14.33%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.54 earnings per share. Axcelis Technologies has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.710-0.710 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jorge Titinger sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $518,160. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Low sold 1,244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total value of $117,010.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 132,282 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,442,444.92. The trade was 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. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axcelis Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACLS. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 1,344.8% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 109,628 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $10,388,000 after purchasing an additional 102,040 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in Axcelis Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $789,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 37.0% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 100,023 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $6,971,000 after purchasing an additional 27,021 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Axcelis Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $1,347,000. Finally, Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Axcelis Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $2,177,000. 89.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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