Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 46.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,800 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 15,280 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.06% of Axcelis Technologies worth $884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACLS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Axcelis Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,050,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its position in Axcelis Technologies by 39.1% during the 1st quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,441,022 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $71,576,000 after acquiring an additional 404,910 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Axcelis Technologies by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,060,096 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $74,069,000 after acquiring an additional 290,678 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 764,069 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $53,386,000 after buying an additional 268,098 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $12,665,000. 89.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Down 2.3%

ACLS opened at $66.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.56 and a quick ratio of 4.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 1.52. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.40 and a 12 month high of $158.61.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.65. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 18.58%. The firm had revenue of $192.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.86 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. Axcelis Technologies’s quarterly revenue was down 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axcelis Technologies declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, March 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, B. Riley raised their price target on Axcelis Technologies from $58.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.00.

Insider Activity at Axcelis Technologies

In related news, Director John T. Kurtzweil sold 1,682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.93, for a total value of $104,166.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,170,646.50. This trade represents a 4.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.