AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $37.90, but opened at $41.73. AXT shares last traded at $41.7310, with a volume of 4,492,046 shares trading hands.

Trending Headlines about AXT

Here are the key news stories impacting AXT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major institutional buyers added large stakes in Q4 2025 (Davidson Kempner, Hood River, Point72 and others), which creates long‑term demand/support beneath the stock. Quiver Quantitative
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical momentum remains strong after a massive 52‑week run (Barchart notes ~2,386% YTD gain and a 100% “Buy” opinion), but the rate of price appreciation is decelerating — a mixed short‑term signal. Barchart Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest data in recent feeds is inconsistent/zero (NaN/0), so there’s no clear public short‑interest signal to explain today’s move. (Data feeds appear unreliable at present.)
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Morris S. Young sold 159,536 shares on Mar 2 at ~$43.32 (~$6.9M), a ~6.04% reduction in his holding; such a large executive sale is putting downward pressure on sentiment. SEC filing: CEO SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Director Jesse Chen sold two blocks (11,320 shares on Mar 2 at ~$45.59 and 11,007 shares on Mar 3 at ~$40.49). These repeated director sales (~5.4–5.6% reductions each) are likely contributing to intraday selling pressure. SEC filing: Director SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Aggregate insider activity shows heavy net selling (Quiver/insider data: 16 insider sales, 0 purchases in the last 6 months), which is a negative governance/sentiment signal for traders. Quiver Quantitative
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarterly results (Feb. 19) showed an EPS miss and revenue below consensus (Q4 revenue ~$23.0M vs. est. ~$24.2M; EPS -$0.05 vs. -$0.04 est.), underscoring ongoing profitability challenges. MarketBeat

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Northland Securities set a $20.00 target price on shares of AXT in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on shares of AXT to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wedbush upped their target price on AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen raised AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AXT presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.80.

AXT Price Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of -87.00 and a beta of 1.75.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Morris S. Young sold 159,536 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.32, for a total value of $6,911,099.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,482,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $107,521,886.16. This trade represents a 6.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 132,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,969,920.96. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 241,863 shares of company stock worth $8,665,602 over the last 90 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 added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AXT in the third quarter worth about $112,000. White Pine Capital LLC boosted its position in AXT by 2.8% in the second 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 last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in AXT by 1,314.6% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 904,599 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $14,790,000 after buying an additional 840,650 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN acquired a new position in AXT in the 4th quarter worth approximately $431,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in AXT during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,187,000. 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.