AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Trading Down 18.7% – Should You Sell?

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI)’s share price traded down 18.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $39.44 and last traded at $37.66. 3,327,761 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 7,849,945 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXTI. Northland Securities set a $20.00 price target on AXT in a report on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on shares of AXT in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Craig Hallum restated a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Needham & Company LLC cut shares of AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, B. Riley Financial boosted their target price on shares of AXT to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.80.

AXT Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.55. The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of -83.02 and a beta of 1.74.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $23.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.24 million. AXT had a negative return on equity of 10.59% and a negative net margin of 24.07%. Analysts expect that AXT Inc will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David C. Chang sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.84, for a total value of $371,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 132,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,969,920.96. This trade represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Morris S. Young sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.05, for a total value of $421,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,495,564 shares in the company, valued at $30,071,546.20. The trade was a 1.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 8.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong purchased a new stake in shares of AXT during the 4th quarter worth about $22,738,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in AXT during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,187,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in AXT by 1,314.6% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 904,599 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $14,790,000 after acquiring an additional 840,650 shares during the last quarter. White Pine Capital LLC grew its position in AXT by 2.8% in the second quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 860,411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,798,000 after acquiring an additional 23,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maytree Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AXT during the 4th quarter worth $11,156,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.