AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 2,150,167 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 74% from the previous session’s volume of 1,235,527 shares.The stock last traded at $13.6670 and had previously closed at $14.83.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on AXTI shares. Wedbush set a $7.00 target price on shares of AXT and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on AXT from $5.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Northland Securities set a $10.00 target price on AXT in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AXT in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AXT has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.00.

AXT Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $8.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.91. The company has a market capitalization of $647.32 million, a P/E ratio of -26.71 and a beta of 1.97.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.08. AXT had a negative return on equity of 11.19% and a negative net margin of 25.22%.The business had revenue of $27.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.85 million. On average, equities analysts expect that AXT Inc will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at AXT

In other AXT news, Director David C. Chang sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.84, for a total value of $371,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 132,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,969,920.96. This trade represents a 15.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leonard J. Leblanc sold 3,637 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.41, for a total transaction of $30,587.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 118,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $999,738.75. This represents a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 326,767 shares of company stock valued at $3,329,808 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Citadel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 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 period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in AXT by 75.0% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 530,269 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 227,333 shares during the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC acquired a new stake in AXT during the 3rd quarter worth $729,000. Destination Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of AXT during the 3rd quarter valued at $458,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 58,542 shares during the period. 49.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AXT

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.