Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $30.08 Million Holdings in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 7.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 211,559 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,886 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.65% of Axcelis Technologies worth $30,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. boosted its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 47.4% during the second quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. now owns 10,130 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after buying an additional 3,259 shares during the last quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV bought a new position in Axcelis Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at $219,000. Shaker Investments LLC OH purchased a new position in Axcelis Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth $685,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 295,744 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $42,052,000 after acquiring an additional 33,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies in the second quarter valued at about $853,000. 89.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ACLS shares. B. Riley cut their price target on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. DA Davidson upped their target price on Axcelis Technologies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Benchmark dropped their price target on Axcelis Technologies from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Craig Hallum upped their price objective on Axcelis Technologies from $130.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jorge Titinger sold 6,086 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total value of $669,338.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $647,892.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Axcelis Technologies Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:ACLS opened at $109.33 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $125.96 and its 200 day moving average is $117.63. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.77 and a 12 month high of $196.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 4.42, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.18. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 27.35% and a net margin of 21.54%. The firm had revenue of $256.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

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.