Private Advisor Group LLC Acquires New Stake in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 6,065 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $424,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ACLS. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Axcelis Technologies by 11.9% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,069 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Axcelis Technologies by 13.5% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,131 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Axcelis Technologies by 40.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 23,751 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,490,000 after buying an additional 6,786 shares in the last quarter. Olympiad Research LP purchased a new stake in Axcelis Technologies in the third quarter worth about $789,000. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its position in Axcelis Technologies by 32.8% in the third quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 64,080 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,719,000 after buying an additional 15,810 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on ACLS shares. Benchmark cut Axcelis Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. William Blair cut Axcelis Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Craig Hallum reduced their price target on Axcelis Technologies from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.00.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ACLS opened at $54.87 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.67 and a 12-month high of $158.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $67.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.52.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The semiconductor company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.29. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 21.02% and a net margin of 19.75%. Equities research analysts forecast that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.