Ameriprise Financial Inc. Reduces Holdings in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 83.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 101,970 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 505,848 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.31% of Axcelis Technologies worth $7,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ACLS. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 78,037.4% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 782,155 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $54,649,000 after purchasing an additional 781,154 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Axcelis Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $36,050,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 61.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 820,116 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $57,302,000 after buying an additional 313,689 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 37.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,060,096 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $74,069,000 after buying an additional 290,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 764,069 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $53,386,000 after buying an additional 268,098 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John T. Kurtzweil sold 1,682 shares of Axcelis Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.93, for a total transaction of $104,166.26. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,170,646.50. This trade represents a 4.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Axcelis Technologies Price Performance

Shares of ACLS opened at $59.05 on Friday. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.40 and a twelve month high of $158.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $52.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.60, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 5.41, a quick ratio of 4.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.65. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 21.02% and a net margin of 19.75%. The company had revenue of $192.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Axcelis Technologies announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, March 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACLS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. William Blair lowered Axcelis Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a report on Monday, April 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Axcelis Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.00.

Axcelis Technologies 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.