Axcelis Jumps Almost Ninefold, Though Company Has No News By Peter J. Brennan

Beverly, Massachusetts, Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of Axcelis Technologies Inc., a semiconductor-equipment maker, surged almost ninefold this morning, then fell back to near their Friday close. The company said it doesn't know what caused the move.

The stock jumped to $93 in early trading and has since settled back to $11.50 at midafternoon. The shares closed at $10.44 on Friday.

The Nasdaq Stock Market said it will allow certain trades of Axcelis shares to be canceled, CNBC reported at about 2:20 p.m. New York time. Nasdaq said there were potential problems with at least one of the electronic communications networks handling trades of Axcelis shares, CNBC said.

Nasdaq can cancel trades under a rule that says if a trade is clearly an erroneous transaction it may be canceled, CNBC said.

Axcelis spokesman Jan-paul van Maaren said the company didn't issue any news releases recently, and has been in contact with the Nasdaq market desk.

``We've been on the phone with investors all morning,'' van Maaren said.

-- kevin (ktross@mailcity.com), February 26, 2001