AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $52.70 and last traded at $48.39, with a volume of 11071940 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $48.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on AXT to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen raised AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $20.00 price objective on AXT in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.80.

AXT Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of -100.81 and a beta of 1.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $28.01 and its 200-day moving average is $15.37.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $23.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.24 million. AXT had a negative return on equity of 10.59% and a negative net margin of 24.07%. On average, analysts predict that AXT Inc will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jesse Chen sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.13, for a total transaction of $706,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 123,612 shares in the company, valued at $5,825,833.56. This trade represents a 10.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.53, for a total value of $770,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 112,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,344,026.32. This represents a 15.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 502,278 shares of company stock valued at $21,196,754 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AXT by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 293,818 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 8,039 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in shares of AXT during the 2nd quarter worth about $86,000. White Pine Capital LLC raised its holdings in AXT by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 860,411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after buying an additional 23,467 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in AXT in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in AXT by 12.4% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,952 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 2,540 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.