AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Climb 7.8% – Here’s Why

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) shares rose 7.8% during trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $54.98 and last traded at $56.1180. Approximately 2,603,553 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 10,074,459 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on AXTI shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of AXT from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. UBS Group set a $90.00 price objective on AXT in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded AXT from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of AXT from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, B. Riley Financial decreased their price objective on shares of AXT from $73.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.00.

AXT Stock Up 8.9%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $68.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.39. The company has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,802.35 and a beta of 1.86.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $47.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.08 million. AXT had a return on equity of 0.96% and a net margin of 3.23%. AXT has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.300-0.320 EPS. Analysts predict that AXT Inc will post 0.80 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AXT news, Director Leonard Leblanc sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.07, for a total transaction of $384,280.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 113,129 shares in the company, valued at $10,868,303.03. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXT

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dupree Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of AXT by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 14,349 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,111,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in AXT by 6.8% in the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,408 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the period. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in AXT in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in AXT during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. purchased a new stake in AXT in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 49.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AXT

AXT, Inc develops and manufactures compound semiconductor substrates used as the foundation for various high-performance electronic and optoelectronic devices. Its principal products include gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP), and germanium substrates, along with other specialty materials such as gallium antimonide and indium arsenide.

The company’s substrates are used in applications including wireless communications, fiber-optic and data-center networks, lasers, light-emitting diodes, solar cells, consumer electronics, and aerospace and defense systems.