American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 290,678 Shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS - Free Report) by 37.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,060,096 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 290,678 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 3.26% of Axcelis Technologies worth $74,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 90.6% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 364 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 27.6% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 85.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 627 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in Axcelis Technologies by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 2,313 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,623 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,054,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.98% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. William Blair downgraded Axcelis Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Craig Hallum reduced their price target on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Axcelis Technologies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $154.00.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Performance

ACLS traded down $4.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $49.71. 920,362 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 617,590. The company's 50-day moving average is $61.80 and its 200 day moving average is $76.31. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.69 and a 52 week high of $158.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of 8.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a quick ratio of 4.05, a current ratio of 5.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The semiconductor company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.29. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 21.02% and a net margin of 19.75%. On average, research analysts expect that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Axcelis Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 5.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.