Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) Short Interest Up 13.3% in August

Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,360,000 shares, an increase of 13.3% from the August 15th total of 1,200,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 510,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 4.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Axcelis Technologies Price Performance

NASDAQ ACLS opened at $167.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.94 and a beta of 1.74. Axcelis Technologies has a 1 year low of $49.78 and a 1 year high of $201.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $179.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.62 and a current ratio of 3.82.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The semiconductor company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $273.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.68 million. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 30.29% and a net margin of 20.19%. The firm’s revenue was up 23.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Axcelis Technologies will post 6.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ACLS. William Blair began coverage on Axcelis Technologies in a report on Monday, June 5th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Craig Hallum lowered Axcelis Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $175.00 in a report on Friday, August 4th. B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on Axcelis Technologies from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Monday, July 17th. StockNews.com began coverage on Axcelis Technologies in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price objective on Axcelis Technologies from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Axcelis Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.50.

Insider Transactions at Axcelis Technologies

In other news, EVP Douglas A. Lawson sold 375 shares of Axcelis Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.45, for a total transaction of $66,543.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,254,787.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Douglas A. Lawson sold 375 shares of Axcelis Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.45, for a total transaction of $66,543.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,254,787.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Greg Redinbo sold 600 shares of Axcelis Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.18, for a total value of $108,108.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,203 shares in the company, valued at $3,099,636.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Axcelis Technologies

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACLS. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 84,025.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 9,512,109 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,743,855,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500,802 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,133,457 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $89,951,000 after purchasing an additional 450,382 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 343.8% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 567,244 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $75,587,000 after purchasing an additional 439,443 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 89.0% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 607,829 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $80,993,000 after purchasing an additional 286,195 shares during the period. Finally, Senvest Management LLC raised its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 1,786,434 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $141,771,000 after purchasing an additional 275,974 shares during the period. 88.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.