Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 1,960 Shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 11.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,023 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,960 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Axcelis Technologies were worth $746,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 90.6% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 364 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 118.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 584 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 160.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 581 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Axcelis Technologies during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 184.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Axcelis Technologies news, Director John T. Kurtzweil sold 1,682 shares of Axcelis Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.93, for a total transaction of $104,166.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 35,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,170,646.50. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ ACLS opened at $72.95 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.08, a current ratio of 5.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 1.57. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.40 and a 52 week high of $158.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.18.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.65. The business had revenue of $192.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.86 million. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 18.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axcelis Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, March 12th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, B. Riley increased their price target on Axcelis Technologies from $58.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Axcelis Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.00.

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.