AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $26.30 and last traded at $26.40, with a volume of 1716953 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXTI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Northland Securities set a $20.00 price objective on AXT in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. B. Riley lowered AXT from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $9.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of AXT from $5.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wedbush set a $7.00 target price on shares of AXT and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.75.

AXT Trading Up 14.7%

The company’s 50 day moving average is $14.03 and its 200-day moving average is $7.29. The company has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.18 and a beta of 1.94.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $27.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.85 million. Analysts predict that AXT Inc will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David C. Chang sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.94, for a total value of $894,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 207,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,857,231.36. This represents a 32.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leonard J. Leblanc sold 3,637 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.41, for a total value of $30,587.17. Following the sale, the director owned 118,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,738.75. This represents a 2.97% 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 326,767 shares of company stock worth $3,329,808 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AXTI. White Pine Capital LLC lifted its stake in AXT by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 860,411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after acquiring an additional 23,467 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC bought a new position in AXT during the third quarter valued at approximately $729,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in AXT by 2,404.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 574,828 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,398,000 after purchasing an additional 551,876 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in AXT by 39.7% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 205,822 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 58,542 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in AXT during the 3rd quarter valued at $136,000. 49.52% of the stock is 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.