Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Raises Stake in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. $ACLS

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. dramatically increased its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 8,566.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 116,997 shares valued at about $9.4 million.
• Several other institutional investors also added to or initiated positions, and hedge funds and institutions now own 89.98% of the semiconductor maker’s stock.
• Insider selling has been notable, with executives and directors selling shares over the past three months, even as analysts currently rate the stock Hold on average with a consensus price target of $116.25.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS - Free Report) by 8,566.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,997 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 115,647 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned about 0.38% of Axcelis Technologies worth $9,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Close Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Axcelis Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 145.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 451 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Todd Sutton sold 2,574 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.89, for a total transaction of $421,852.86. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 7,817 shares in the company, valued at $1,281,128.13. This trade represents a 24.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory B. Graves sold 3,225 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.61, for a total value of $456,692.25. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,473 shares in the company, valued at $775,031.53. This trade represents a 37.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 30,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,570,427 over the last three months. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACLS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. B. Riley Financial upgraded shares of Axcelis Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of Axcelis Technologies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Axcelis Technologies from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.25.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Performance

Axcelis Technologies stock opened at $152.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a current ratio of 4.59, a quick ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $119.70 and a 200-day moving average of $97.89. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.93 and a 52 week high of $171.61.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.01. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 12.19% and a net margin of 11.93%.The company had revenue of $198.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $195.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Axcelis Technologies has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.900- EPS. On average, analysts expect that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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