AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) CEO Morris Young Sells 8,300 Shares

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) CEO Morris Young sold 8,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.65, for a total value of $329,095.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,469,958 shares in the company, valued at $97,933,834.70. This represents a 0.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

AXT Stock Up 14.9%

AXT stock opened at $44.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.10. The company has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -92.29 and a beta of 1.75. AXT Inc has a 52 week low of $1.13 and a 52 week high of $47.03.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AXT by 2.8% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 293,818 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 8,039 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in shares of AXT during the second quarter worth approximately $86,000. White Pine Capital LLC raised its stake in AXT by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 860,411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 23,467 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in AXT in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in AXT by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,952 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,540 shares in the last quarter. 49.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting AXT

Here are the key news stories impacting AXT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Buyers are leaning into an AI infrastructure growth narrative that analysts say could lift long‑term demand for AXT’s semiconductor substrates and wafers, supporting a higher valuation multiple and momentum in the name. Assessing AXT (AXTI) Valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity: traders bought ~14,442 call options (≈171% above typical daily call volume), indicating short‑term bullish/speculative positioning that can amplify upside. (market data entry)
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum/rebound trade: AXT rallied sharply after recent losses as bargain hunters and momentum traders piled back in, helping lift the stock for a second straight session. AXT Climbs 14.9%
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest figures in recent data appear anomalous/zero and provide no clear signal (likely a reporting quirk), so short-covering is not confirmed as a driver. (market data entry)
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling: CEO Morris S. Young sold 125,893 shares (≈$4.6M) on Mar 9 and previously sold smaller lots; Director Jesse Chen also sold multiple tranches (totaling tens of thousands of shares). Significant insider sell volume can be read as a negative signal by investors. CEO Sale SEC Filing Director Sale SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 / FY2025 results were mixed: revenue fell to $23.0M (down QoQ and YoY) and GAAP gross margin dipped to ~20.9%, reinforcing near‑term execution concerns versus the AI-led optimism. That weakness tempers the bullish narrative until visibility improves. AXT Reports Q4 & FY2025 Results AXT Q4 Summary
• Negative Sentiment: TipRanks and other outlets highlighted a recent director sale as a notable insider move, which can increase investor wariness even as the stock rallies. TipRanks Insider Move

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on AXT in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on shares of AXT to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AXT has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.80.

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.