Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Purchases 440 Shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,191 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Axcelis Technologies were worth $544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 74.7% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 152 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Axcelis Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new position in Axcelis Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 42.8% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 527 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 89.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ACLS shares. B. Riley Financial dropped their target price on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. B. Riley lowered their price target 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Douglas A. Lawson bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $111.04 per share, with a total value of $55,520.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Performance

Axcelis Technologies stock opened at $98.25 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.13. The company has a current ratio of 3.79, a quick ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.63. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.04 and a 1-year high of $201.00.

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

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.