AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $90.78, but opened at $95.71. AXT shares last traded at $91.9280, with a volume of 1,088,501 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXTI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Northland Securities set a $125.00 price target on shares of AXT in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on shares of AXT to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of AXT from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.80.

AXT Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $89.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.95. The company has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -246.98 and a beta of 1.80.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.03. AXT had a negative net margin of 14.69% and a negative return on equity of 5.71%. The company had revenue of $26.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.22 million. AXT has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.060-0.080 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AXT Inc will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Morris S. Young sold 123,601 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.33, for a total transaction of $14,007,701.33. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,149,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,606,574.89. This trade represents a 5.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jesse Chen sold 6,133 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.28, for a total transaction of $664,081.24. Following the sale, the director directly owned 94,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,199,218.04. The trade was a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 274,622 shares of company stock valued at $26,767,557. Company insiders own 5.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong acquired a new stake in AXT during the 4th quarter valued at $22,738,000. Maytree Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in AXT during the 4th quarter valued at $11,156,000. Destination Wealth Management acquired a new stake in AXT during the 3rd quarter valued at $458,000. Penn Capital Management Company LLC acquired a new stake in AXT during the 3rd quarter valued at $729,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in AXT by 3,764.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 11,594 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 11,294 shares in the last quarter. 49.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.