Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 505,848 Shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS - Free Report) by 83.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,970 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 505,848 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.31% of Axcelis Technologies worth $7,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ACLS. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 61.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 820,116 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $57,302,000 after acquiring an additional 313,689 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Axcelis Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $397,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Axcelis Technologies by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 188,559 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $13,175,000 after buying an additional 7,476 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Axcelis Technologies by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 60,834 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,250,000 after buying an additional 16,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Axcelis Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $465,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Axcelis Technologies

In other news, Director John T. Kurtzweil sold 1,682 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.93, for a total transaction of $104,166.26. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,170,646.50. This represents a 4.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Axcelis Technologies Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:ACLS traded down $0.47 on Wednesday, reaching $59.21. 25,131 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 647,391. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 5.41, a quick ratio of 4.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.40 and a 1-year high of $158.61. The company's 50 day moving average is $52.20 and its 200-day moving average is $62.86.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS - Get Free Report) last released its 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 business had revenue of $192.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.86 million. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 19.75% and a return on equity of 21.02%. Axcelis Technologies's revenue for the quarter was down 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axcelis Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, March 12th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on ACLS shares. William Blair lowered shares of Axcelis Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. B. Riley restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $50.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.00.

About Axcelis Technologies

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.