AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Stock Price Down 8.4% – Here’s Why

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI)’s share price dropped 8.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $20.10 and last traded at $21.0640. Approximately 5,416,979 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 10,979,406 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AXT in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Northland Securities set a $20.00 price target on shares of AXT in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. B. Riley downgraded shares of AXT from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $9.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wedbush set a $7.00 target price on shares of AXT and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Craig Hallum restated a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.75.

AXT Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $14.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.29. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of -42.50 and a beta of 1.94.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 11.19% and a negative net margin of 25.22%.The company had revenue of $27.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.85 million. As a group, analysts predict that AXT Inc will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at AXT

In other news, Director David C. Chang sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.94, for a total value of $894,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 207,744 shares in the company, valued at $1,857,231.36. This represents a 32.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Leonard J. Leblanc sold 3,637 shares of the company’s 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 sale, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 326,767 shares of company stock valued at $3,329,808. 8.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXT

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of AXT by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,952 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 2,540 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC increased its position in AXT by 31.9% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 28,800 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 6,970 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in AXT by 2.8% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 293,818 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 8,039 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in AXT during the third quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Atlas Brown Inc. boosted its holdings in AXT by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 39,150 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 19,575 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.