Raymond James & Associates Lowers Stake in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

Raymond James & Associates lowered its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 32.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,459 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 5,934 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Axcelis Technologies were worth $1,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Axcelis Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $437,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 8.7% during the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 224,118 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $36,542,000 after buying an additional 17,885 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 267.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 100,409 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $16,372,000 after buying an additional 73,053 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 2.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 392,377 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $63,977,000 after buying an additional 7,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $910,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

Axcelis Technologies Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of ACLS opened at $98.25 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $111.05 and its 200 day moving average is $126.13. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.04 and a fifty-two week high of $201.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.71 and a current ratio of 3.79.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The semiconductor company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.17. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 21.78% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The company had revenue of $310.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $297.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.71 earnings per share. Axcelis Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Douglas A. Lawson acquired 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $111.04 per share, for a total transaction of $55,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,181,713.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. B. Riley Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Axcelis Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $189.00.

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.