Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) Trading Up 4.4%

Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) was up 4.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $145.70 and last traded at $145.60. Approximately 191,836 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 613,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $139.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ACLS shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Axcelis Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.00.

Axcelis Technologies Trading Up 2.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 4.00 and a quick ratio of 2.87. The company has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.54. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $117.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.79.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The semiconductor company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $252.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $242.55 million. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 22.16% and a return on equity of 30.22%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 6.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Axcelis Technologies news, Director John T. Kurtzweil sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.42, for a total transaction of $137,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 33,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,792,565.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lincoln National Corp lifted its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 4,319 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $560,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 17.5% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 670 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 9,839 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,276,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 1.7% during the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 7,310 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA raised its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 4,477 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $581,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

About Axcelis Technologies

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.