QSM Asset Management Ltd Sells 7,250 Shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. $ACLS

QSM Asset Management Ltd cut its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,166 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 7,250 shares during the quarter. Axcelis Technologies accounts for about 3.7% of QSM Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. QSM Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Axcelis Technologies were worth $5,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 50.3% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 481 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 145.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 451 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 129.0% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 545 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 30,130 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,100,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. 89.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gerald M. Blumenstock sold 3,034 shares of Axcelis Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.46, for a total transaction of $271,421.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,669,413.06. This trade represents a 13.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jorge Titinger sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.05, for a total transaction of $172,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,477 shares in the company, valued at $643,395.85. This trade represents a 21.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Axcelis Technologies Price Performance

Axcelis Technologies stock opened at $82.79 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $83.40 and its 200 day moving average is $80.53. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $40.40 and a one year high of $102.93. The firm has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.95 and a quick ratio of 3.32.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The semiconductor company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $252.42 million during the quarter. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 15.93% and a return on equity of 14.58%. As a group, research analysts expect that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ACLS. DA Davidson increased their target price on Axcelis Technologies from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. B. Riley lowered their price objective on Axcelis Technologies from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Axcelis Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Axcelis Technologies from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $81.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.80.

Axcelis Technologies Profile

Axcelis Technologies, Inc is a leading developer and manufacturer of ion implantation and cleaning equipment used in the fabrication of semiconductor chips. The company specializes in high-current, medium-current and high-energy ion implantation systems, which are critical for introducing precisely controlled dopants into silicon wafers. Axcelis also offers plasma-based cleaning and dry strip tools that support advanced process nodes in logic, memory and power device manufacturing.

The company’s product portfolio encompasses single-wafer and multi-wafer cluster tools designed to deliver high throughput, accuracy and uniformity for semiconductor process steps.