FORA Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 12,935 Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 12,935 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $904,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,036,112 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $72,393,000 after acquiring an additional 348,504 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 61.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 820,116 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $57,302,000 after purchasing an additional 313,689 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 45.6% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 87,825 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,136,000 after purchasing an additional 27,497 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Axcelis Technologies by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 188,559 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $13,175,000 after purchasing an additional 7,476 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 60,834 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,250,000 after buying an additional 16,152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. B. Riley reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (down from $80.00) on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. William Blair cut shares of Axcelis Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Craig Hallum cut their price target on Axcelis Technologies from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Axcelis Technologies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.00.

Axcelis Technologies Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ACLS opened at $57.64 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.61 and a 200-day moving average of $65.28. The company has a current ratio of 5.41, a quick ratio of 4.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.37, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.52. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.40 and a twelve month high of $158.61.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.65. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 21.02% and a net margin of 19.75%. The firm had revenue of $192.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.86 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axcelis Technologies announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 12th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.