Morris Young Sells 159,536 Shares of AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Stock

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) CEO Morris Young sold 159,536 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.32, for a total transaction of $6,911,099.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,482,038 shares in the company, valued at $107,521,886.16. The trade was a 6.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

AXT Price Performance

AXT stock opened at $38.79 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -80.81 and a beta of 1.75. AXT Inc has a 1-year low of $1.13 and a 1-year high of $47.03. The company’s 50-day moving average is $24.12 and its 200 day moving average is $13.19.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.01). AXT had a negative net margin of 24.07% and a negative return on equity of 10.59%. The business had revenue of $23.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.24 million. Research analysts anticipate that AXT Inc will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting AXT

Here are the key news stories impacting AXT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional funds added meaningful Q4 2025 positions (examples cited: Davidson Kempner, Hood River, Point72), which provides medium‑term demand/support under the stock. Quiver Quantitative
• Positive Sentiment: Brainhole Technology disclosed it reinvested proceeds into AXT shares, signalling an external buyer allocating capital to the name. TipRanks
• Positive Sentiment: Positive long‑term return story highlighted by Benzinga (shows how a 15‑year investment in AXT performed), which can support retail investor interest over time. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest figures in the feeds are inconsistent/zero (0/NaN), so there’s no clear short‑interest or short‑squeeze signal to explain intraday moves.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains mixed — several firms have set targets across a wide range and consensus is around a “Hold” with an average target near the low‑to‑mid $20s, so no strong one‑way analyst catalyst is apparent.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Morris Young sold 159,536 shares (~$6.9M at reported averages) on Mar 2 — a material insider disposition that likely weighed on sentiment. InsiderTrades
• Negative Sentiment: Director Jesse Chen executed two recent sales (11,320 and 11,007 shares on Mar 2–3), and aggregate insider activity shows heavy net selling recently — a negative governance/sentiment signal that likely amplified selling pressure. InsiderTrades Quiver Quantitative
• Negative Sentiment: Recent Q4 earnings missed estimates (EPS and revenue slightly below consensus) and the company reported negative margins — results that increase sensitivity to headline news and make investor sentiment more fragile.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AXT in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in AXT in the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in AXT in the fourth quarter worth approximately $69,000. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in AXT during the second quarter worth $86,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in AXT during the 4th quarter valued at $98,000. 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.