AXT Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:AXTI)

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 9,810 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 73% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,678 put options.

AXT News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AXT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and stories highlighting an AI‑infrastructure growth narrative have lifted sentiment around AXT’s long‑term demand prospects for compound‑semiconductor wafers, supporting higher valuation expectations. Assessing AXT (AXTI) Valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual call activity: traders bought ~14,442 call options on Mar 10 (≈171% above typical daily call volume), signaling short‑term bullish/speculative positioning that can amplify upside momentum.
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum rebound: the stock has rallied after recent losses as bargain hunters and momentum traders pushed the share price higher, reinforcing short‑term upward pressure. AXT Climbs 14.9%
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest figures appear anomalous/zero in recent data releases and provide no clear signal about short covering; treat those numbers cautiously.
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling: CEO Morris S. Young sold 125,893 shares (~$4.6M) on Mar 9 and has reduced his stake; Director Jesse Chen has also sold multiple tranches. Significant insider disposals can weigh on sentiment and raise questions about timing. CEO Sale SEC Filing Director Jesse Chen Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual put buying: investors purchased 9,810 puts on Mar 11 (≈73% above normal put volume), indicating some participants are hedging or taking bearish positions, which could cap near‑term gains.
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed Q4/FY2025 results: revenue fell to $23.0M (down QoQ and YoY) and GAAP gross margin softened to ~20.9%, underscoring near‑term execution/visibility concerns despite the longer‑term AI narrative. AXT Reports Q4 & FY2025 Results

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on AXT in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen raised AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $20.00 target price on shares of AXT in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AXT currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.80.

AXT Stock Up 4.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:AXTI traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.27. The company had a trading volume of 6,701,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,311,494. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $25.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.10. AXT has a 1-year low of $1.13 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of -96.76 and a beta of 1.75.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.01). AXT had a negative net margin of 24.07% and a negative return on equity of 10.59%. The business had revenue of $23.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.24 million. On average, research analysts expect that AXT will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David C. Chang sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.53, for a total transaction of $770,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 112,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,344,026.32. This represents a 15.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jesse Chen sold 12,452 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.69, for a total transaction of $469,315.88. Following the sale, the director directly owned 152,612 shares in the company, valued at $5,751,946.28. This trade represents a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 370,455 shares of company stock worth $14,879,664 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AXTI. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AXT in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in AXT in the third quarter valued at $52,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in AXT during the fourth quarter valued at $69,000. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in AXT during the 2nd quarter worth about $86,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in AXT during the 4th quarter worth about $98,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.52% of the company’s stock.

AXT Company Profile

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.