Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Holdings in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS - Free Report) by 46.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,800 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 15,280 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.06% of Axcelis Technologies worth $884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ACLS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,396,134 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $307,158,000 after purchasing an additional 106,203 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. increased its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 39.1% during the first quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,441,022 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $71,576,000 after buying an additional 404,910 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,060,096 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $74,069,000 after buying an additional 290,678 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 2.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 764,069 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $53,386,000 after acquiring an additional 268,098 shares during the period. 89.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Axcelis Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ACLS traded down $0.87 on Friday, hitting $66.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 588,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 655,243. The company has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.56 and a quick ratio of 4.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.37. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.40 and a 1 year high of $158.61.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.65. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 18.58% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The company had revenue of $192.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $184.86 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Axcelis Technologies's revenue for the quarter was down 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axcelis Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 12th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $58.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $136.00.

Insider Transactions at Axcelis Technologies

In related news, Director John T. Kurtzweil sold 1,682 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.93, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.