B. Riley Raises Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) Price Target to $190.00

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) had its target price lifted by research analysts at B. Riley from $175.00 to $190.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. B. Riley’s price target suggests a potential upside of 28.32% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on ACLS. Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Axcelis Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research report on Friday. Finally, Benchmark reduced their price objective on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Axcelis Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.80.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Up 2.4 %

ACLS stock traded up $3.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $148.07. 72,714 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 615,813. Axcelis Technologies has a 1 year low of $93.77 and a 1 year high of $201.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $126.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.60. The stock has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 4.00 and a quick ratio of 2.87.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The semiconductor company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $252.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $242.55 million. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 22.16% and a return on equity of 30.22%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Axcelis Technologies will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John T. Kurtzweil sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.42, for a total value of $137,304.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 33,146 shares in the company, valued at $3,792,565.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ACLS. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Axcelis Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 109.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 266 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 1,188.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 322 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 100.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 627.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 313 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

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.