Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Buys New Position in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired 119,376 shares of Axcelis Technologies, valued at approximately $5.9 million, representing about 0.37% of the company's stock.
• Insider John T. Kurtzweil sold 1,682 shares of Axcelis at an average price of $61.93, decreasing his position by 4.58% to a total of 35,050 shares.
• Axcelis Technologies reported $1.13 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a 24.2% year-over-year revenue decline, with a consensus price target of $90.00 from analysts.

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 119,376 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $5,929,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC owned approximately 0.37% of Axcelis Technologies at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 189,568 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $13,245,000 after acquiring an additional 10,645 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in Axcelis Technologies by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,896 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 66,142 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,621,000 after buying an additional 3,288 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 23,266 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,626,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 897,750 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $62,738,000 after buying an additional 23,234 shares during the period. 89.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Axcelis Technologies

In other news, Director John T. Kurtzweil sold 1,682 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.93, for a total transaction of $104,166.26. Following the transaction, the director owned 35,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,170,646.50. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ACLS shares. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $58.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Axcelis Technologies from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Axcelis Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $90.00.

Axcelis Technologies Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Axcelis Technologies stock traded down $1.22 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $83.75. 345,764 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 638,499. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.83 and a 200-day moving average of $61.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 4.26 and a current ratio of 6.01. The company has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.13 and a beta of 1.58. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.40 and a 12 month high of $117.57.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The semiconductor company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.40. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 16.26% and a net margin of 17.69%. The company had revenue of $194.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $185.15 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. Axcelis Technologies's revenue for the quarter was down 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.