AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Up 6.7% – What’s Next?

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) shares traded up 6.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $50.88 and last traded at $50.2950. 10,909,679 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 16% from the average session volume of 9,414,042 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AXTI shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Wedbush lifted their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC cut shares of AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group set a $35.00 price objective on shares of AXT in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.80.

AXT Stock Up 8.0%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.24 and a 200 day moving average of $19.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of -106.20 and a beta of 1.50.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $23.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.24 million. AXT had a negative return on equity of 9.50% and a negative net margin of 24.07%. As a group, equities analysts predict that AXT Inc will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXT

In other news, Director David C. Chang sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.53, for a total transaction of $770,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 112,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,344,026.32. This represents a 15.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jesse Chen sold 15,000 shares of AXT stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.13, for a total value of $706,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 123,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,825,833.56. The trade was a 10.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 502,278 shares of company stock valued at $21,196,754 in the last three months. 8.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong acquired a new position in shares of AXT during the 4th quarter valued at about $22,738,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of AXT during the 4th quarter valued at about $20,187,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of AXT by 1,314.6% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 904,599 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $14,790,000 after purchasing an additional 840,650 shares in the last quarter. Maytree Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in AXT in the 4th quarter valued at about $11,156,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in AXT by 2,404.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 574,828 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,398,000 after purchasing an additional 551,876 shares during the last quarter. 49.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.