JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Stake in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 189,568 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,645 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.58% of Axcelis Technologies worth $13,245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ACLS. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 78,037.4% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 782,155 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $54,649,000 after acquiring an additional 781,154 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 348,504 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 61.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 820,116 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $57,302,000 after purchasing an additional 313,689 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $74,069,000 after buying an additional 290,678 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 2.5% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.98% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ACLS shares. Craig Hallum cut their price objective 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. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, William Blair downgraded shares of Axcelis Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Axcelis Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $154.00.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Performance

NASDAQ ACLS traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $47.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 503,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 636,416. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $55.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.26. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.40 and a 12 month high of $158.61. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.59.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The semiconductor company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axcelis Technologies announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors 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.