AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Given New $56.00 Price Target at B. Riley Financial

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) had its target price boosted by B. Riley Financial from $55.00 to $56.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on AXTI. UBS Group set a $90.00 price target on AXT in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research lowered shares of AXT from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AXT from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised shares of AXT from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.80.

AXT Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AXTI opened at $55.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 122.36 and a beta of 1.86. AXT has a fifty-two week low of $7.80 and a fifty-two week high of $143.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $66.26 and a 200-day moving average of $64.07.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $73.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.00 million. AXT had a return on equity of 6.35% and a net margin of 18.53%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AXT will post 0.80 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AXT news, Director Leonard Leblanc sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.07, for a total transaction of $384,280.00. Following the sale, the director owned 113,129 shares in the company, valued at $10,868,303.03. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dupree Financial Group LLC lifted its position in AXT by 2.9% in the third quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 14,349 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of AXT by 6.8% in the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,408 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of AXT in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AXT in the third quarter worth $42,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AXT by 6.9% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $677,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the period. 49.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More AXT News

Here are the key news stories impacting AXT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AXT reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.41, surpassing the $0.31 consensus estimate, while revenue of $73.4 million exceeded expectations of approximately $66 million. Revenue increased 162% year over year, helped by record indium phosphide (InP) sales. AXTI Q3 Earnings Beat on Record InP Sales and Margin Gains
• Positive Sentiment: Management cited strong artificial-intelligence data-center demand, a backlog exceeding $500 million and surging InP requirements. AXT plans aggressive capacity expansion and indicated stronger fourth-quarter expectations, supporting the longer-term growth outlook. AXTI Q3 Earnings Call Highlights AI Demand and Capacity Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability improved sharply: GAAP gross margin reached approximately 56%, versus 44.9% in the prior quarter and 22.3% a year earlier, while GAAP diluted EPS rose to $0.39 from $0.17. Wedbush also praised AXT’s management following the results. AXT in focus as Wedbush likens management to Jaws hero after strong results
• Neutral Sentiment: B. Riley raised its price target modestly to $56 from $55 but maintained a Neutral rating, indicating limited near-term upside at recent trading levels. B. Riley Financial Ratings
• Negative Sentiment: The decline appears partly driven by profit-taking and risk reduction ahead of earnings after a sharp momentum rally. The stock’s high valuation, semiconductor volatility and sensitivity to export permits and China-related approvals may be prompting investors to lock in gains. AXT Falls as Investors Appear to Take Profits Ahead of Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Reported insider activity shows 16 open-market sales and no purchases during the past six months, a potential supply and confidence concern for 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.