B. Riley Financial Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) Stock Price

18 Feb 2026, 17:28 by Tristan Rich · The Markets Daily

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS – Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by equities research analysts at B. Riley Financial from $94.00 to $91.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. B. Riley Financial’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 9.87% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on ACLS. Bank of America upped their target price on Axcelis Technologies from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Axcelis Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Zacks Research cut Axcelis Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.50.

View Our Latest Stock Report on ACLS

Axcelis Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ACLS traded down $15.68 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $82.82. The company had a trading volume of 2,953,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 734,040. The firm has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 1.77. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.66. Axcelis Technologies has a one year low of $40.40 and a one year high of $102.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a current ratio of 4.95.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The semiconductor company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $238.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $215.04 million. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 15.93% and a return on equity of 14.58%. Axcelis Technologies’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. Axcelis Technologies has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.710-0.710 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Axcelis Technologies will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Axcelis Technologies

In related news, EVP Gerald M. Blumenstock sold 3,034 shares of Axcelis Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.46, for a total value of $271,421.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,669,413.06. The trade was a 13.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jorge Titinger sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $643,395.85. This 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.

Institutional Trading of Axcelis Technologies

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 85.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,807,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $145,207,000 after buying an additional 835,242 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,659,463 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $115,648,000 after buying an additional 518,968 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Axcelis Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,747,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 176.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 386,735 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,761,000 after buying an additional 246,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 10,368.7% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 243,503 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $19,563,000 after acquiring an additional 241,177 shares in the last quarter. 89.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Axcelis Technologies News

Here are the key news stories impacting Axcelis Technologies this week:

Positive Sentiment: Q4 operating results topped expectations: revenue of ~$238.3M and non‑GAAP EPS of $1.49 beat consensus, and gross margins remained strong — evidence of resilient pricing/segment strength that supports near‑term profitability. Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) Q4 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
Neutral Sentiment: Company press release and call materials provide detailed P&L and slide deck for deeper analysis (GAAP vs non‑GAAP differences noted). These documents help investors reconcile reported EPS beats with underlying GAAP metrics. Axcelis Announces Financial Results for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025
Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcripts and highlights summarize management commentary — useful for color on order trends, end-market demand and timing of customer orders but do not change the headline guidance-driven reaction. Axcelis Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Earnings Call Highlights
Negative Sentiment: Management issued soft Q1 2026 guidance (EPS guidance ~0.71 vs. street ~0.90; revenue guidance ~$195M vs. street ~$204M). The lower guidance is the primary catalyst for the share decline — it signals near‑term demand weakness or order pacing changes.
Negative Sentiment: Underlying operational and cash‑flow metrics show weakness: operating profit, GAAP diluted EPS and operating cash flow declined year‑over‑year in Q4, which raises concerns about sustainability of margins and free cash generation. Market commentary notes the guidance overshadowed the quarter’s top‑line beat. Axcelis stock falls on Q4 2025 Earnings Axcelis shares tumble as soft guidance overshadows Q4 beat

About Axcelis Technologies

(Get Free Report)

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.