Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $184.65 and last traded at $192.5560, with a volume of 5116 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $180.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. B. Riley Financial raised shares of Axcelis Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of Axcelis Technologies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Axcelis Technologies from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.25.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Down 7.7%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $145.52 and its 200-day moving average is $108.10. The stock has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.09, a PEG ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.99 and a current ratio of 4.59.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.01. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 12.19%. The firm had revenue of $198.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $195.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Axcelis Technologies has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.900- EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 3.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Axcelis Technologies

In related news, EVP Eileen Evans sold 926 shares of Axcelis Technologies stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.51, for a total value of $144,002.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,866,685.45. This trade represents a 2.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gerald M. Blumenstock sold 1,161 shares of Axcelis Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.70, for a total transaction of $177,284.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,493 shares in the company, valued at $3,129,281.10. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 36,039 shares of company stock worth $5,461,394 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axcelis Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACLS. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 85.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,807,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $145,207,000 after purchasing an additional 835,242 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 0.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 844,097 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $78,565,000 after buying an additional 3,057 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 7.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 635,393 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $31,560,000 after buying an additional 44,275 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 3,402.5% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 491,745 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $45,772,000 after buying an additional 477,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 478,897 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $38,475,000 after buying an additional 92,162 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

Axcelis Technologies Company Profile

Axcelis Technologies, Inc is a leading developer and manufacturer of ion implantation and cleaning equipment used in the fabrication of semiconductor chips. The company specializes in high-current, medium-current and high-energy ion implantation systems, which are critical for introducing precisely controlled dopants into silicon wafers. Axcelis also offers plasma-based cleaning and dry strip tools that support advanced process nodes in logic, memory and power device manufacturing.

The company’s product portfolio encompasses single-wafer and multi-wafer cluster tools designed to deliver high throughput, accuracy and uniformity for semiconductor process steps.