AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $16.35, but opened at $17.20. AXT shares last traded at $15.8840, with a volume of 1,575,830 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of AXT from $5.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. Wedbush set a $7.00 price target on AXT and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Northland Securities set a $20.00 price target on AXT in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, B. Riley upped their price objective on AXT from $4.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.50.

AXT Stock Down 4.3%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.04. The company has a market capitalization of $864.81 million, a P/E ratio of -31.26 and a beta of 1.93.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Leonard J. Leblanc sold 3,637 shares of AXT stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 2.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Morris S. Young sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.65, for a total transaction of $692,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,439,490 shares in the company, valued at $21,101,588.50. The trade was a 3.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 326,767 shares of company stock valued at $3,329,808 over the last three months. 8.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised 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 valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 227,333 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. grew its stake in AXT by 100.0% in the second quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 39,150 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 19,575 shares in the last quarter. White Pine Capital LLC increased its holdings in AXT by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 860,411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 23,467 shares during the period. Destination Wealth Management bought a new stake in AXT during the 3rd quarter valued at $458,000. Finally, Penn Capital Management Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXT in the 3rd quarter worth $729,000. 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.