Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) Short Interest Up 7.9% in September

Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,190,000 shares, a growth of 7.9% from the August 31st total of 2,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 659,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Currently, 6.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axcelis Technologies

In related news, Director Jorge Titinger sold 6,086 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total transaction of $669,338.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $647,892.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 6.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,304,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $480,040,000 after buying an additional 263,604 shares during the period. Jackson Square Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 49.0% in the 1st quarter. Jackson Square Partners LLC now owns 492,764 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $54,953,000 after acquiring an additional 162,040 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 7.7% during the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 455,846 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $64,816,000 after purchasing an additional 32,695 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 442,586 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $57,399,000 after purchasing an additional 3,999 shares during the period. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 23.4% during the second quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 419,048 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $59,584,000 after purchasing an additional 79,456 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACLS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Craig Hallum upped their price target on Axcelis Technologies from $130.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a report on Friday, August 2nd. B. Riley cut their target price on Axcelis Technologies from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Axcelis Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.33.

Axcelis Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Axcelis Technologies stock opened at $101.76 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 4.42 and a quick ratio of 3.26. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $109.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.01. Axcelis Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $93.77 and a fifty-two week high of $170.97.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.18. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 21.54% and a return on equity of 27.35%. The firm had revenue of $256.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.86 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Axcelis Technologies will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

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.