Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) Shares Acquired by WINTON GROUP Ltd

WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 63.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,848 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,763 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Axcelis Technologies were worth $1,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ACLS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Axcelis Technologies by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,396,134 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $307,158,000 after purchasing an additional 106,203 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,233,282 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $129,310,000 after buying an additional 18,101 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,060,096 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $74,069,000 after acquiring an additional 290,678 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 50.7% in the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,036,112 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $72,393,000 after acquiring an additional 348,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 874,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $91,708,000 after purchasing an additional 28,141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ACLS shares. Craig Hallum decreased their target price on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. William Blair cut Axcelis Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.00.

Axcelis Technologies Trading Down 7.6 %

ACLS stock opened at $49.71 on Friday. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.69 and a 52-week high of $158.61. The company has a quick ratio of 4.05, a current ratio of 5.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.08, a PEG ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.62. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.46.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts forecast 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 stock buyback plan on Wednesday, March 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.