Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Raises Stock Holdings in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 233,008 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Axcelis Technologies were worth $16,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ACLS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 106,203 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 18,101 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 37.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,060,096 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $74,069,000 after purchasing an additional 290,678 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,036,112 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $72,393,000 after buying an additional 348,504 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 897,750 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $62,738,000 after buying an additional 23,234 shares in the last quarter. 89.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axcelis Technologies Price Performance

ACLS stock opened at $42.42 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $59.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.41 and a quick ratio of 4.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.62. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.26 and a 1 year high of $158.61.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last issued its 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 net margin of 19.75% and a return on equity of 21.02%. Analysts anticipate that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axcelis Technologies declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 12th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACLS has been the topic of several research reports. William Blair lowered Axcelis Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Craig Hallum lowered their price objective on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.00.

Axcelis Technologies 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.