Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) Short Interest Up 22.4% in March

Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,020,000 shares, an increase of 22.4% from the February 29th total of 1,650,000 shares. Currently, 6.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 698,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Axcelis Technologies news, EVP Douglas A. Lawson bought 500 shares of Axcelis Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $111.04 per share, with a total value of $55,520.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,181,713.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axcelis Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ACLS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Axcelis Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $57,105,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Axcelis Technologies by 343.8% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 567,244 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $75,587,000 after acquiring an additional 439,443 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Square Partners LLC acquired a new position in Axcelis Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $42,892,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Axcelis Technologies by 89.0% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 607,829 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $80,993,000 after acquiring an additional 286,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in Axcelis Technologies during the third quarter worth about $40,425,000. 89.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ACLS shares. B. Riley cut their price objective on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Axcelis Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.00.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ ACLS opened at $111.52 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.56. Axcelis Technologies has a 52-week low of $105.28 and a 52-week high of $201.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.71, a current ratio of 3.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The semiconductor company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.17. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 21.78% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $310.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Axcelis Technologies will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Axcelis Technologies

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.