Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) Shares Bought by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 305.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 116,290 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 87,602 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Axcelis Technologies were worth $8,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ACLS. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 90.6% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 364 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 1,153.8% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 489 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 1,415.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 85.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 627 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 184.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the period. 89.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axcelis Technologies Price Performance

NASDAQ ACLS opened at $57.64 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization 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 1 year low of $40.40 and a 1 year high of $158.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $51.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 4.05 and a current ratio of 5.41.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.65. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 19.75% and a return on equity of 21.02%. The company had revenue of $192.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.86 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axcelis Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 12th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACLS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Craig Hallum reduced their price objective 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. William Blair cut Axcelis Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. B. Riley reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axcelis Technologies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.00.

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.