AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $27.77, but opened at $26.63. AXT shares last traded at $24.9760, with a volume of 2,037,441 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXTI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Needham & Company LLC cut shares of AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AXT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Northland Securities set a $20.00 target price on AXT in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wedbush set a $7.00 price target on AXT and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.75.

AXT Stock Down 9.0%

The company has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of -48.75 and a beta of 1.96. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David C. Chang sold 25,000 shares of AXT stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Morris S. Young sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.05, for a total value of $421,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,495,564 shares in the company, valued at $30,071,546.20. This trade represents a 1.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 143,130 shares of company stock valued at $1,713,221 in the last ninety days. 8.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AXT

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AXTI. White Pine Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of AXT by 2.8% in the second quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 860,411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,798,000 after acquiring an additional 23,467 shares in the last quarter. Nano Cap New Millennium Growth Fund L P purchased a new position in AXT in the fourth quarter valued at $1,014,000. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong acquired a new position in AXT during the 4th quarter worth $22,738,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in AXT by 3,764.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 11,594 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 11,294 shares during the period. Finally, Maytree Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in AXT in the 4th quarter valued at about $11,156,000. 49.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.