Axcelis Technologies’ (ACLS) Hold Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. William Blair lowered shares of Axcelis Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Benchmark cut Axcelis Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Craig Hallum reduced 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 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.00.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Performance

Axcelis Technologies stock opened at $59.30 on Wednesday. Axcelis Technologies has a twelve month low of $57.68 and a twelve month high of $158.61. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 4.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $71.28 and its 200 day moving average is $88.45.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The semiconductor company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.29. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 24.16% and a net margin of 20.65%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Axcelis Technologies will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axcelis Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ACLS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 189,568 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $13,245,000 after buying an additional 10,645 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 63.4% in the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 14,848 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 5,763 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 2.5% in the fourth 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. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 60,834 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,250,000 after purchasing an additional 16,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Axcelis Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $454,000. 89.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.