Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY Sells 323,000 Shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY reduced its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS - Free Report) by 67.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 153,900 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 323,000 shares during the quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY owned approximately 0.47% of Axcelis Technologies worth $10,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 61.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 820,116 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $57,302,000 after acquiring an additional 313,689 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Axcelis Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $397,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 7,476 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Axcelis Technologies by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 60,834 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,250,000 after purchasing an additional 16,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Axcelis Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $465,000. 89.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ACLS. B. Riley reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $50.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research note on Monday, April 21st. William Blair cut shares of Axcelis Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Axcelis Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.00.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Performance

ACLS traded down $0.73 on Friday, hitting $58.32. The company had a trading volume of 326,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 650,708. The stock has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.41 and a quick ratio of 4.05. The company's fifty day moving average price is $52.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.23. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.65. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 19.75% and a return on equity of 21.02%. The company had revenue of $192.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axcelis Technologies announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, March 12th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Axcelis Technologies

In other Axcelis Technologies news, Director John T. Kurtzweil sold 1,682 shares of the firm'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 value of $104,166.26. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,170,646.50. This trade represents a 4.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.