Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 194,038 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 5,479 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.60% of Axcelis Technologies worth $9,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 90.6% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 364 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 118.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 584 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 160.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 581 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Axcelis Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 1,387.5% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 714 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.98% of the company's stock.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ ACLS traded down $0.39 on Friday, reaching $71.14. 139,924 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 642,718. The company has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 4.08 and a current ratio of 5.56. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.40 and a 12 month high of $138.74. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $66.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.27.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.65. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 18.58%. The firm had revenue of $192.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.86 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, B. Riley boosted their price objective on Axcelis Technologies from $58.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $118.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John T. Kurtzweil sold 1,682 shares of the 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 owned 35,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,170,646.50. This trade represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Axcelis Technologies 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.