Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) Shares Sold by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 53.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 33,376 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 38,645 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Axcelis Technologies were worth $2,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ACLS. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 78,037.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 50.7% in the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,036,112 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $72,393,000 after acquiring an additional 348,504 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 61.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 820,116 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $57,302,000 after acquiring an additional 313,689 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Axcelis Technologies in the third quarter worth $13,874,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 51.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 263,332 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,610,000 after acquiring an additional 89,453 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on ACLS shares. Craig Hallum dropped their price target 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. William Blair downgraded shares of Axcelis Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.00.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of ACLS stock opened at $57.19 on Wednesday. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.67 and a 12 month high of $158.61. The company has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.30, a PEG ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 5.41, a quick ratio of 4.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $64.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.68.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The semiconductor company reported $1.54 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axcelis Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 typically an indication 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.