Trexquant Investment LP Grows Stock Position in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

Trexquant Investment LP boosted its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 60.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,894 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 26,219 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in Axcelis Technologies were worth $4,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 78,037.4% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 782,155 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $54,649,000 after acquiring an additional 781,154 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Axcelis Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $36,050,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its holdings 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 valued at $72,393,000 after purchasing an additional 348,504 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in 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 buying an additional 313,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in 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 worth $74,069,000 after buying an additional 290,678 shares in the last quarter. 89.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. William Blair downgraded Axcelis Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Craig Hallum decreased 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Axcelis Technologies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.00.

Axcelis Technologies Trading Down 5.3 %

Shares of ACLS opened at $42.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.41 and a quick ratio of 4.05. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.40 and a 1 year high of $158.61. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.46.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last posted 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axcelis Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 12th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.