Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) Competitors

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) and MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) are both mid-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, community ranking, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, dividends and profitability.

Do analysts rate ACLS or MKSI?

Axcelis Technologies currently has a consensus price target of $131.00, indicating a potential upside of 109.73%. MKS Instruments has a consensus price target of $134.33, indicating a potential upside of 49.99%. Given Axcelis Technologies' higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Axcelis Technologies is more favorable than MKS Instruments.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Axcelis Technologies	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.29
MKS Instruments	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.92

Is ACLS or MKSI more profitable?

Axcelis Technologies has a net margin of 19.75% compared to MKS Instruments' net margin of 5.30%. Axcelis Technologies' return on equity of 21.02% beat MKS Instruments' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Axcelis Technologies	19.75%	21.02%	15.22%
MKS Instruments	5.30%	18.94%	5.02%

Does the media prefer ACLS or MKSI?

In the previous week, MKS Instruments had 19 more articles in the media than Axcelis Technologies. MarketBeat recorded 29 mentions for MKS Instruments and 10 mentions for Axcelis Technologies. Axcelis Technologies' average media sentiment score of 1.42 beat MKS Instruments' score of 1.19 indicating that Axcelis Technologies is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Axcelis Technologies	9 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
MKS Instruments	18 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better earnings & valuation, ACLS or MKSI?

Axcelis Technologies has higher earnings, but lower revenue than MKS Instruments. Axcelis Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MKS Instruments, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Axcelis Technologies	$958.06M	2.09	$200.99M	$5.46	11.44
MKS Instruments	$3.65B	1.65	$190M	$3.35	26.73

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in ACLS or MKSI?

90.0% of Axcelis Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.8% of MKS Instruments shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Axcelis Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of MKS Instruments shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more risk and volatility, ACLS or MKSI?

Axcelis Technologies has a beta of 1.52, suggesting that its stock price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MKS Instruments has a beta of 1.8, suggesting that its stock price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer ACLS or MKSI?

Axcelis Technologies received 5 more outperform votes than MKS Instruments when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 71.76% of users gave MKS Instruments an outperform vote while only 71.21% of users gave Axcelis Technologies an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Axcelis Technologies	Outperform Votes 559 71.21%	Underperform Votes 226 28.79%
MKS Instruments	Outperform Votes 554 71.76%	Underperform Votes 218 28.24%

Summary

MKS Instruments beats Axcelis Technologies on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.