AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Upgraded to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Northland Securities set a $20.00 price objective on shares of AXT in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. B. Riley Financial downgraded shares of AXT from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $9.00 to $18.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Needham & Company LLC cut shares of AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wedbush set a $7.00 price objective on shares of AXT and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a report on Friday, January 9th. Two 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.75.

AXT Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:AXTI opened at $24.24 on Friday. AXT has a 12-month low of $1.13 and a 12-month high of $28.65. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $18.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.19. The firm has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of -46.62 and a beta of 1.96.

Insider Activity at AXT

In other news, Director David C. Chang sold 25,000 shares of AXT stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.84, for a total transaction of $371,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 132,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,969,920.96. The trade was a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Morris S. Young sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.05, for a total value of $421,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,495,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,071,546.20. This represents a 1.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 143,130 shares of company stock worth $1,713,221. 8.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXT

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXT in the fourth quarter worth approximately $98,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in AXT during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,140,000. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXT in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,489,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of AXT in the 4th quarter valued at $1,104,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AXT during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,183,000. 49.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.