Jackson Square Partners LLC Sells 56,757 Shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

Jackson Square Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 23.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 186,590 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 56,757 shares during the quarter. Jackson Square Partners LLC owned 0.57% of Axcelis Technologies worth $13,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Axcelis Technologies by 90.6% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 364 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 85.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 627 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 2,313 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Axcelis Technologies by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,623 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after buying an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. 89.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ACLS shares. William Blair cut shares of Axcelis Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Craig Hallum decreased their price objective on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Axcelis Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.00.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of ACLS stock opened at $57.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.62. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.67 and a 52 week high of $158.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $63.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 4.05 and a current ratio of 5.41.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The semiconductor company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.29. Axcelis Technologies had a return on equity of 21.02% and a net margin of 19.75%. On average, analysts expect that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Axcelis Technologies declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, March 12th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.