AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Stock Price Down 8.4% – Here’s What Happened

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) shares dropped 8.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $20.10 and last traded at $21.0640. Approximately 5,416,979 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 10,979,406 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXTI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. B. Riley lowered shares of AXT from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $9.00 to $18.00 in a report on Friday. Northland Securities set a $20.00 target price on AXT in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wedbush set a $7.00 price objective on AXT and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of AXT from $5.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.75.

AXT Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.77 and a beta of 1.94. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.91.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $27.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.85 million. AXT had a negative net margin of 25.22% and a negative return on equity of 11.19%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AXT Inc will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXT

In other news, Director David C. Chang sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.94, for a total transaction of $894,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 207,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,857,231.36. This represents a 32.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Morris S. Young sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.65, for a total value of $692,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,439,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,101,588.50. The trade was a 3.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 326,767 shares of company stock valued at $3,329,808 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. White Pine Capital LLC raised its position in AXT by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 860,411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 23,467 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of AXT by 2,404.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 574,828 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,398,000 after buying an additional 551,876 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AXT by 339.6% during the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 405,978 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,823,000 after buying an additional 313,618 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in AXT by 2.8% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 293,818 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 8,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in AXT by 39.7% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 205,822 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 58,542 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.52% of the company’s stock.

About AXT

AXT, Inc (NASDAQ: AXTI) is a global supplier of compound and single-element semiconductor substrates, offering a range of materials critical for high-performance electronic and optoelectronic devices. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Fremont, California, AXT specializes in the development, manufacture and distribution of wafers composed of gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP), gallium nitride (GaN) and other compound semiconductor materials. These substrates serve as the foundational platforms for devices used in data communications, wireless infrastructure, advanced computing, consumer electronics and photovoltaic applications.

AXT’s product portfolio encompasses a variety of wafer sizes, dopant concentrations and crystal orientations, tailored to meet the precise specifications of its customers.