Norges Bank Buys Shares of 515,957 Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 515,957 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,050,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 51.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 263,332 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,610,000 after purchasing an additional 89,453 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. increased its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 50.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Pier Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 101.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pier Capital LLC now owns 82,990 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,702,000 after acquiring an additional 41,782 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 1.5% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 61.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 820,116 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $57,302,000 after acquiring an additional 313,689 shares in the last quarter. 89.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axcelis Technologies Price Performance

ACLS stock opened at $42.42 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.46. The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.62. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.40 and a 52-week high of $158.61.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The semiconductor company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axcelis Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, March 12th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACLS has been the topic of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. William Blair lowered Axcelis Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Craig Hallum decreased their price objective 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.00.

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.