Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) Receives $154.00 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $154.00.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Craig Hallum cut their price objective on Axcelis Technologies from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, William Blair downgraded shares of Axcelis Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axcelis Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,396,134 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $307,158,000 after acquiring an additional 106,203 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Axcelis Technologies by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,233,282 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $129,310,000 after purchasing an additional 18,101 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,060,096 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $74,069,000 after purchasing an additional 290,678 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,036,112 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $72,393,000 after buying an additional 348,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 897,750 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $62,738,000 after buying an additional 23,234 shares during the period. 89.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Down 7.6 %

ACLS stock opened at $49.71 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.08, a PEG ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.46. The company has a current ratio of 5.41, a quick ratio of 4.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Axcelis Technologies has a twelve month low of $49.69 and a twelve month high of $158.61.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The semiconductor company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.29. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 19.75% and a return on equity of 21.02%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Axcelis Technologies will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axcelis Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, March 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally 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.