Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Sunday.

ACLS has been the subject of several other research reports. Benchmark raised shares of Axcelis Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Bank of America lowered Axcelis Technologies from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $81.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, October 13th. B. Riley lowered their target price on Axcelis Technologies from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Axcelis Technologies from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut Axcelis Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.80.

Axcelis Technologies Trading Down 3.9%

ACLS opened at $85.61 on Friday. Axcelis Technologies has a 52 week low of $40.40 and a 52 week high of $102.93. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.29. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24 and a beta of 1.73.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The semiconductor company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $252.42 million for the quarter. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 15.93%. On average, equities analysts expect that Axcelis Technologies will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Axcelis Technologies

In other news, EVP Gerald M. Blumenstock sold 3,034 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.46, for a total transaction of $271,421.64. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axcelis Technologies

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in Axcelis Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $273,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,358 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,439,902 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $220,530,000 after buying an additional 43,768 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 386,007 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $19,173,000 after acquiring an additional 16,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 35.1% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 159,623 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,928,000 after acquiring an additional 41,436 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

Axcelis Technologies Company 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.