Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) Short Interest Up 140.8% in October

Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,310,000 shares, a growth of 140.8% from the October 15th total of 1,790,000 shares. Approximately 13.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 603,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. B. Riley cut their price target on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Benchmark downgraded Axcelis Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Axcelis Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.33.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Down 1.1 %

ACLS stock opened at $78.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.45, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.87. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.86, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.60. Axcelis Technologies has a twelve month low of $78.61 and a twelve month high of $158.61.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACLS. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,099,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 64.1% during the third quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 687,608 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $72,096,000 after buying an additional 268,560 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,304,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $480,040,000 after buying an additional 263,604 shares during the last quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Axcelis Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,801,000. Finally, Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of Axcelis Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $20,819,000. 89.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.