AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Director Leonard Leblanc Sells 4,000 Shares

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) Director Leonard Leblanc sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.07, for a total value of $384,280.00. Following the sale, the director owned 113,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,868,303.03. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

AXT Trading Down 10.8%

AXT stock opened at $73.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 3,671.50 and a beta of 1.90. AXT Inc has a 1-year low of $2.20 and a 1-year high of $143.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.06 and a 200-day moving average of $67.26.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $47.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.08 million. AXT had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 0.96%. AXT has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.300-0.320 EPS. Research analysts forecast that AXT Inc will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AXTI. UBS Group set a $90.00 price objective on AXT in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised AXT from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of AXT from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. B. Riley Financial lowered their price objective on AXT from $73.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $125.00 target price on shares of AXT in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.00.

More AXT News

Here are the key news stories impacting AXT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AXT’s record InP revenue, backlog exceeding $100 million and planned capacity expansion could support a multiyear growth opportunity as AI data centers increase demand for optical components. AXT’s InP Demand Is Surging: Can It Become a Long-Term Growth Driver?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent reports linked AXT’s gains to tightening indium phosphide supply and new AI-related deals, reinforcing investor expectations that the company may benefit from increased optical-networking demand. Why AXT Is Up 11.6% After Indium Phosphide Supply Tightens Amid New AI Deals
• Neutral Sentiment: Tradr launched a first-to-market exchange-traded fund focused on AXT and several other optics and AI-related companies. The additional investment product may improve exposure and trading interest, although its direct effect on AXT’s fundamentals is unclear. Tradr Debuts First-to-Market ETFs on Meta, AXT, Coherent & Lightwave Logic
• Negative Sentiment: AXT has been pressured alongside other optics stocks as investors reassessed AI spending expectations and took profits in companies that had already posted large gains. The sector-wide risk-off move may be weighing on the stock despite its favorable InP outlook. Optics Stocks Drop on Anthropic News
• Negative Sentiment: Director Leonard J. Leblanc disclosed sales totaling 6,000 shares in August, following a 500-share sale in June. The transactions reduced his holdings by about 5.5% cumulatively and may create a modest insider-confidence overhang, although the director still owns more than 113,000 shares. SEC Insider Transaction Filing

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXTI. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in AXT in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $365,607,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of AXT by 161.9% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,505,354 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $85,775,000 after buying an additional 930,526 shares during the period. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong acquired a new stake in shares of AXT in the fourth quarter valued at about $22,738,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in AXT in the 4th quarter worth about $20,187,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AXT by 1,314.6% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 904,599 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $14,790,000 after acquiring an additional 840,650 shares during the last quarter. 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.