Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) Shares Acquired by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,479 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,942 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Axcelis Technologies were worth $2,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ACLS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,105,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies in the first quarter valued at about $37,871,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 263,604 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies in the first quarter valued at about $20,819,000. Finally, Jackson Square Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 49.0% in the first quarter. Jackson Square Partners LLC now owns 492,764 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $54,953,000 after purchasing an additional 162,040 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

Axcelis Technologies Price Performance

Axcelis Technologies stock opened at $97.84 on Thursday. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.77 and a 1 year high of $170.97. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 4.42.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $1.55 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jorge Titinger sold 6,086 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 approximately $647,892.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACLS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. B. Riley lowered their price target on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Craig Hallum boosted their target price on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $130.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.33.

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.