Graham Capital Management L.P. Buys 2,363 Shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

Graham Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 83.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,178 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,363 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Axcelis Technologies were worth $362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Axcelis Technologies by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,630 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Axcelis Technologies by 1,153.8% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 489 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Axcelis Technologies by 85.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 627 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Axcelis Technologies by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,371 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Axcelis Technologies by 78,037.4% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 782,155 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $54,649,000 after buying an additional 781,154 shares in the last quarter. 89.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on ACLS shares. B. Riley reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research report on Monday, April 21st. 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, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.00.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of ACLS stock opened at $61.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 4.05 and a current ratio of 5.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $51.93 and its 200-day moving average is $64.31. The stock has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.01, a PEG ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.52. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.40 and a 52-week high of $158.61.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $192.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $184.86 million. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 19.75% and a return on equity of 21.02%. Axcelis Technologies’s quarterly revenue was down 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Axcelis Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, March 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board 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.