Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Sells 229 Shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC decreased its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 32,882 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 229 shares during the quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s holdings in Axcelis Technologies were worth $2,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Axcelis Technologies by 1,153.8% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 489 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Axcelis Technologies by 85.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 627 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Axcelis Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $69,000. Palouse Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Axcelis Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Axcelis Technologies by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,371 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

Axcelis Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ACLS opened at $63.46 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a current ratio of 4.45. The company has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 9.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.52. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.35. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.32 and a fifty-two week high of $158.61.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The semiconductor company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.29. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 24.16% and a net margin of 20.65%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.