AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Up 6.7% – Time to Buy?

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) shares traded up 6.7% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $50.88 and last traded at $50.2950. 10,909,679 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 16% from the average session volume of 9,414,042 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on AXTI. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Northland Securities set a $20.00 price target on shares of AXT in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on AXT to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group set a $35.00 price objective on AXT in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.80.

AXT Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $36.24 and its 200 day moving average is $19.78. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of -106.20 and a beta of 1.50.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.01). AXT had a negative net margin of 24.07% and a negative return on equity of 9.50%. The firm had revenue of $23.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.24 million. As a group, analysts predict that AXT Inc will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AXT

In other news, Director David C. Chang sold 20,000 shares of AXT stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $920,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 72,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,346,224. This trade represents a 21.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Morris S. Young sold 37,905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.13, for a total value of $1,938,082.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,275,328 shares in the company, valued at $116,337,520.64. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 502,278 shares of company stock worth $21,196,754. Company insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in AXT in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,939,000. XTX Topco Ltd increased its holdings in AXT by 173.7% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 35,201 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 22,338 shares in the last quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. bought a new stake in shares of AXT during the 4th quarter valued at $228,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of AXT during the fourth quarter worth about $278,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in AXT by 577.2% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 205,503 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,360,000 after buying an additional 175,158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.