Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 20,409 Shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. $ACLS

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 9.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,268 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 20,409 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.59% of Axcelis Technologies worth $18,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in Axcelis Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 145.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 451 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,105 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 1,094.7% during the 2nd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,350 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 1,237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Axcelis Technologies news, EVP Gerald M. Blumenstock sold 3,034 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.46, for a total value of $271,421.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,669,413.06. This represents a 13.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jorge Titinger sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.05, for a total value of $172,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,477 shares in the company, valued at $643,395.85. This represents a 21.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Axcelis Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ACLS opened at $86.08 on Monday. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.40 and a 52 week high of $102.93. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $87.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.67. The company has a quick ratio of 3.32, a current ratio of 4.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35 and a beta of 1.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACLS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on Axcelis Technologies from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Axcelis Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Axcelis Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Axcelis Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.25.

About Axcelis Technologies

Axcelis Technologies, Inc is a leading developer and manufacturer of ion implantation and cleaning equipment used in the fabrication of semiconductor chips. The company specializes in high-current, medium-current and high-energy ion implantation systems, which are critical for introducing precisely controlled dopants into silicon wafers. Axcelis also offers plasma-based cleaning and dry strip tools that support advanced process nodes in logic, memory and power device manufacturing.

The company’s product portfolio encompasses single-wafer and multi-wafer cluster tools designed to deliver high throughput, accuracy and uniformity for semiconductor process steps.