Investors Buy High Volume of AXT Call Options (NASDAQ:AXTI)

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 43,167 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 29% compared to the typical volume of 33,442 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AXTI shares. UBS Group set a $90.00 target price on shares of AXT in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AXT from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Northland Securities set a $125.00 price objective on shares of AXT in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on shares of AXT from $73.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised shares of AXT from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AXT presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.00.

More AXT News

Here are the key news stories impacting AXT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results substantially exceeded expectations: AXT reported $0.19 in earnings per share versus the $0.07 consensus estimate, while revenue reached approximately $47.6 million, well above estimates near $34 million and up sharply from the prior year. The company also reported improved gross and operating profitability. AXTI Q2 Earnings Beat on Record InP Demand, Revenues Rise Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: AI-related demand is accelerating: Management cited record InP revenue and strong demand from data-center optical connectivity customers. AXT plans to expand capacity and increase output while targeting further margin improvement. AXTI Q2 Earnings Call Highlights AI Capacity Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Q3 guidance was well above consensus: AXT forecast earnings of $0.30-$0.32 per share and revenue of roughly $66 million, compared with analyst expectations of $0.10 EPS and $38.7 million in revenue. AXT Stock Rips Higher After Q2 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved: Needham upgraded AXT from Hold to Buy and assigned a $90 price target. Heavy call-option buying also indicated increased bullish trading interest. Needham Upgrades AXT to Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the improved quarter, AXT’s trailing net margin remains negative and the stock continues to exhibit significant volatility, increasing the risk of sharp price swings after the rally.
• Negative Sentiment: Reported insider-trading data shows executives made multiple sales and no purchases during the past six months, which could temper investor confidence, although these transactions may not reflect current operating conditions.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jesse Chen sold 6,172 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.24, for a total value of $711,261.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,793,691. This represents a 10.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 8,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.17, for a total value of $926,379.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 65,165 shares in the company, valued at $7,244,393.05. The trade was a 11.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 251,636 shares of company stock worth $27,789,677. 5.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AXT

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in AXT by 161.9% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,505,354 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $85,775,000 after acquiring an additional 930,526 shares during the period. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong acquired a new stake in AXT during the fourth quarter worth $22,738,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in AXT in the fourth quarter valued at $20,187,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in AXT by 1,314.6% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 904,599 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $14,790,000 after purchasing an additional 840,650 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of AXT by 112.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 776,300 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,234,000 after purchasing an additional 410,181 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.52% of the company’s stock.

AXT Trading Up 28.7%

AXT stock opened at $60.43 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $75.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.74. AXT has a 12-month low of $1.85 and a 12-month high of $143.16. The stock has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 3,021.50 and a beta of 1.86.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $47.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.08 million. AXT had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 1.55%. AXT has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.300-0.320 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that AXT will post 0.19 EPS for the current year.

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.