AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Stock Price Up 7.4% – Here’s What Happened

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) shares shot up 7.4% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $18.53 and last traded at $18.6950. 1,253,457 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 8,300,533 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC lowered AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Northland Securities set a $20.00 price objective on shares of AXT in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AXT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AXT in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, B. Riley cut shares of AXT from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $9.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.75.

AXT Stock Up 2.5%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $985.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.30 and a beta of 1.94.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AXT

In other news, Director Leonard J. Leblanc sold 3,637 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.41, for a total value of $30,587.17. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 25,000 shares of AXT stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.84, for a total value of $371,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 132,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,969,920.96. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 326,767 shares of company stock worth $3,329,808. Insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AXT

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AXT during the third quarter valued at about $52,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in AXT in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in AXT by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,952 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 2,540 shares in the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its holdings in AXT by 2,333,600.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 23,337 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 23,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AXT in the 3rd quarter worth $112,000. Institutional investors own 49.52% of the company’s stock.

About AXT

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.