Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $52.70 and last traded at $53.21, with a volume of 27410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on ACLS shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. William Blair downgraded Axcelis Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Craig Hallum dropped their price target on Axcelis Technologies from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.00.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Down 7.6 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.31. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.08, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.62. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The semiconductor company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.29. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 21.02% and a net margin of 19.75%. As a group, 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 has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, March 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.