Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,264 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $298,000.
A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ACLS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Axcelis Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,050,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $74,069,000 after acquiring an additional 290,678 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in 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 last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in Axcelis Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,665,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 428.5% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 222,663 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $15,557,000 after acquiring an additional 180,531 shares during the last quarter. 89.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Separately, B. Riley upped their price objective on Axcelis Technologies from $58.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $136.00.
Read Our Latest Analysis on ACLS
Axcelis Technologies Stock Down 2.3%
Shares of Axcelis Technologies stock traded down $1.59 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $66.89. 465,404 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 656,199. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.40 and a 1 year high of $158.61. The stock's fifty day moving average is $56.65 and its 200 day moving average is $61.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 4.08 and a current ratio of 5.56. The firm has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 1.52.
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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.65. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 18.58%. The business had revenue of $192.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.
Axcelis Technologies declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 12th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Activity 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
About Axcelis Technologies
(
Free Report)
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.
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