AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Up 14.6% – Time to Buy?

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI)’s stock price rose 14.6% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $21.66 and last traded at $21.24. Approximately 3,916,159 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 7,922,478 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXTI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Northland Securities set a $20.00 price objective on shares of AXT in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. B. Riley downgraded AXT from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered AXT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AXT in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.75.

AXT Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of -36.06 and a beta of 1.96. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AXT news, Director Leonard J. Leblanc sold 3,637 shares of the firm’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 $999,738.75. This trade represents a 2.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 25,000 shares of AXT stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.84, for a total transaction of $371,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 132,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,969,920.96. This trade represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 146,767 shares of company stock valued at $1,743,808. Corporate insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXT

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AXTI. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AXT during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in AXT during the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in shares of AXT during the second quarter valued at about $86,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased 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 purchasing an additional 23,336 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.