Axcelis Technologies, Inc. $ACLS Shares Sold by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Key Points

• Janus Henderson Group cut its Axcelis Technologies stake by 65% in the first quarter, selling 27,148 shares and retaining 14,628 shares valued at approximately $1.36 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 89.98% of ACLS.
• Axcelis beat second-quarter estimates with revenue of $215.2 million, up 10.6% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $1.06 versus the $0.89 consensus. Management also issued above-consensus third-quarter guidance and raised its full-year 2026 outlook to mid-single-digit revenue growth.
• Despite strong results, analyst sentiment remains cautious: Craig Hallum downgraded ACLS to Hold with a $140 price target, while the broader consensus is Hold with an average target of $132.20. Investors are also monitoring semiconductor capital-spending trends and recent insider selling.

Janus Henderson Group PLC reduced its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS - Free Report) by 65.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,628 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 27,148 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC's holdings in Axcelis Technologies were worth $1,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Axcelis Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Axcelis Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Axcelis Technologies by 145.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 451 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Axcelis Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Axcelis Technologies by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 665 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. 89.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Axcelis Technologies News

Here are the key news stories impacting Axcelis Technologies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings and revenue beat estimates. Axcelis reported revenue of $215.2 million, up 10.6% year over year, while non-GAAP diluted EPS was $1.06 versus the $0.89 consensus estimate. Non-GAAP gross and operating margins were 42.7% and 14.7%, respectively. Axcelis Announces Financial Results for Second Quarter 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Q3 guidance exceeded analyst expectations. Management forecast EPS of approximately $1.11 and revenue of $230 million, above consensus estimates of $1.01 and $214.8 million. The company also raised its full-year 2026 outlook to mid-single-digit revenue growth, improving visibility for investors. Axcelis expects Q3 2026 EPS of about $1.11 as it lifts full-year 2026 outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are weighing the semiconductor capital-spending outlook. Recent analysis highlights Axcelis’s exposure to the ongoing chip-manufacturing buildout but questions whether the equipment-spending cycle can continue supporting growth. This remains an important longer-term factor for ACLS. Can Axcelis Technologies Keep Riding the Semiconductor Capital Spending Wave?
• Negative Sentiment: Craig Hallum downgraded ACLS from Buy to Hold and assigned a $140 price target, suggesting limited near-term upside at the time of the report. The downgrade may temper enthusiasm following the earnings beat, particularly given the stock’s elevated valuation and recent volatility. Finviz

Axcelis Technologies Price Performance

Shares of ACLS opened at $140.27 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of 47.07, a PEG ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.92. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $152.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 3.21 and a current ratio of 4.90. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.60 and a twelve month high of $193.78.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.17. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 10.71% and a return on equity of 11.69%. The firm had revenue of $215.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $205.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Axcelis Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Axcelis Technologies has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.110-1.110 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 3.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Eileen Evans sold 926 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.51, for a total transaction of $144,002.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,866,685.45. This represents a 2.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Todd Sutton sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.99, for a total transaction of $319,980.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 6,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,017,536.40. This trade represents a 23.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 26,083 shares of company stock valued at $4,001,032 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ACLS shares. Craig Hallum lowered shares of Axcelis Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $140.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Axcelis Technologies from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. B. Riley Financial raised shares of Axcelis Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Axcelis Technologies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Axcelis Technologies from $130.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.20.

Axcelis Technologies Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source