Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Boosts Stock Position in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 69.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,120 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Axcelis Technologies were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Reinhart Partners LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Axcelis Technologies during the 1st quarter worth $37,871,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 6.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,304,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $480,040,000 after purchasing an additional 263,604 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Axcelis Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,801,000. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $20,819,000. Finally, Jackson Square Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 49.0% during the 1st quarter. Jackson Square Partners LLC now owns 492,764 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $54,953,000 after buying an additional 162,040 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jorge Titinger sold 6,086 shares of Axcelis Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total value of $669,338.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $647,892.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Performance

NASDAQ ACLS opened at $100.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 4.42 and a quick ratio of 3.26. The company has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $106.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.52. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $93.77 and a 1-year high of $170.97.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $256.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.06 million. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 21.54% and a return on equity of 27.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACLS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Craig Hallum raised their price objective on Axcelis Technologies from $130.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.33.

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.