AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) shares saw strong trading volume on Friday . 1,611,555 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 42% from the previous session’s volume of 1,132,765 shares.The stock last traded at $11.6150 and had previously closed at $12.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. Wedbush set a $7.00 price objective on AXT and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on AXT from $5.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Northland Securities set a $10.00 target price on AXT in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of AXT from $4.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AXT presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.00.

AXT Stock Down 1.0%

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $7.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $558.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.10 and a beta of 1.97.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.08. AXT had a negative net margin of 25.22% and a negative return on equity of 11.19%. The company had revenue of $27.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.85 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AXT Inc will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AXT

In related news, CEO Morris S. Young sold 33,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.39, for a total transaction of $344,220.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,476,360 shares in the company, valued at $25,729,380.40. The trade was a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.33, for a total transaction of $308,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 157,744 shares in the company, valued at $1,944,983.52. This represents a 13.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 266,767 shares of company stock valued at $2,537,058. Corporate insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXT

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Citadel Advisors LLC raised its position in AXT by 339.6% during the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 405,978 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,823,000 after buying an additional 313,618 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AXT by 75.0% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 530,269 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 227,333 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXT during the third quarter worth about $729,000. Destination Wealth Management purchased a new position in AXT during the third quarter worth about $458,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in AXT by 39.7% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 205,822 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 58,542 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.52% of the company’s stock.

AXT Company Profile

AXT, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes compound and single element semiconductor substrates. The company offers indium phosphide for use in data center connectivity using light/lasers, high-speed data transfer in data centers, 5G communications, fiber optic lasers and detectors, consumer devices, passive optical networks, silicon photonics, photonic integrated circuits, thermo-photovoltaics, RF amplifier and switching, infrared light-emitting diode (LEDS) motion control, lidar for robotics and autonomous vehicles, and infrared thermal imaging.