Kennedy Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 38.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,881 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 33,033 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned about 0.17% of Axcelis Technologies worth $3,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ACLS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 2.5% in the 4th 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 during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position 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 worth $129,310,000 after acquiring an additional 18,101 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 37.8% in the fourth 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 during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 348,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 2.7% during the 4th 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Up 4.0 %

ACLS stock opened at $47.05 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $56.33 and its 200 day moving average is $71.94. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 5.41, a quick ratio of 4.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.40 and a 1-year high of $158.61.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The semiconductor company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.29. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 19.75% and a return on equity of 21.02%. Sell-side analysts predict 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 program on Wednesday, March 12th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ACLS. Craig Hallum reduced their target price on Axcelis Technologies from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. William Blair cut shares of Axcelis Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note 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 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 stock presently has a consensus 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.