Axcelis Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:ACLS)
Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (ACLS), a global semiconductor chip company yesterday reported their third quarter 2016 financial results. Axcelis reported third quarter earnings of $0.07 per share which beat analyst expectations of $0.04 per share. Axcelis reported third quarter revenues of $65.7 million which fell short of analyst expectations of $67.5 million.
Axcelis Technologies, Inc. CEO’s Comments
“Since the start of the year we have made significant progress on our penetration plans, placing Purion products in thirteen new customer fabs, including seven new customers and six new fabs for existing customers,” said President and CEO Mary Puma. “These Purion penetrations position Axcelis for success as the industry enters a strong investment cycle, creating a strong foundation for growth in both 2017 and 2018.”
“We remain focused on executing against gross margin initiatives that have already delivered solid increases in Purion product margins. Since ramping production of the full Purion product line with the Purion H in Q1 of 2015, system standard margins have improved 680 basis points on a rolling four quarter average,” added Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Kevin Brewer. “These actions along with additional planned improvements should allow us to achieve our goal of 40% gross margins by the end of 2017.” PR Newswire
ACLS Technical Analysis
ACLS opened trading yesterday at $14.15 which was down from the previous day’s trading close of $14.20. ACLS closed trading yesterday at $13.45 and crashed down after market to $12, equivalent to a 11% decrease from the closing price. Taking a look at the daily chart we can see the last time ACLS traded below these levels we have to go back to September 9th when it traded at lows of $11.76. Taking a closer look at the daily chart we can see that before the spike down ACLS had been in an overall upward trend dating back to July 7th when it traded at $9.91. ACLS has a float of 25.81 million shares and traded 1.02 times the normal daily trading volume on Wednesday. For trading purposes, I would like to see ACLS open trading on Thursday below $12.50 and if it does I would be looking to take a short position at the bell. My stop loss would be $0.20 from my entry position fearing anything more than that and the stock would start to fill in the gap down.
Company Profile
Axcelis Technologies, Inc. designs, manufactures, and services ion implantation and other processing equipment used in the fabrication of semiconductor chips worldwide. It offers a line of high energy, high current, and medium current implanters for all application requirements. The company also provides dry strip systems for smaller wafers. In addition, it offers extensive aftermarket lifecycle products and services, including used tools, spare parts, equipment upgrades, maintenance services, and customer training. The company sells its equipment and services to semiconductor chip manufacturers through direct sales force. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts.