Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) Upgraded to Buy at Craig Hallum

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) was upgraded by equities researchers at Craig Hallum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $130.00 price objective on the semiconductor company’s stock. Craig Hallum’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 16.64% from the stock’s previous close.

ACLS has been the subject of a number of other reports. B. Riley Financial decreased their price objective on Axcelis Technologies from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.00.

Axcelis Technologies Trading Up 4.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ACLS opened at $111.45 on Friday. Axcelis Technologies has a twelve month low of $93.77 and a twelve month high of $201.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $107.79 and a 200-day moving average of $121.24. The company has a current ratio of 4.00, a quick ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The semiconductor company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.33. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 30.22% and a net margin of 22.16%. The business had revenue of $252.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $242.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. Axcelis Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Axcelis Technologies will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Axcelis Technologies

In other news, EVP Douglas A. Lawson purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased 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 directly owns 19,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,181,713.92. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axcelis Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ACLS. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Axcelis Technologies during the third quarter worth about $437,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Axcelis Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,127,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Axcelis Technologies by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 224,118 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $36,542,000 after acquiring an additional 17,885 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in Axcelis Technologies by 267.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 100,409 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $16,372,000 after purchasing an additional 73,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings 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 worth $63,977,000 after purchasing an additional 7,595 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.