16,617 Shares in AXT Inc $AXTI Purchased by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 16,617 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,286,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AXT during the first quarter worth $27,000. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. purchased a new position in AXT during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in AXT during the second quarter valued at $55,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of AXT in the first quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in shares of AXT in the first quarter valued at about $88,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Leonard Leblanc sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.07, for a total transaction of $384,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 113,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,868,303.03. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXTI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of AXT from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on shares of AXT from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AXT from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Zacks Research cut AXT from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, UBS Group set a $90.00 price objective on AXT in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.80.

AXT Stock Performance

Shares of AXTI opened at $55.06 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $66.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.07. AXT Inc has a one year low of $7.80 and a one year high of $143.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 122.36 and a beta of 1.86.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $73.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.00 million. AXT had a return on equity of 6.35% and a net margin of 18.53%. On average, analysts predict that AXT Inc will post 0.80 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting AXT

Here are the key news stories impacting AXT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AXT reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.41, surpassing the $0.31 consensus estimate, while revenue of $73.4 million exceeded expectations of approximately $66 million. Revenue increased 162% year over year, helped by record indium phosphide (InP) sales. AXTI Q3 Earnings Beat on Record InP Sales and Margin Gains
• Positive Sentiment: Management cited strong artificial-intelligence data-center demand, a backlog exceeding $500 million and surging InP requirements. AXT plans aggressive capacity expansion and indicated stronger fourth-quarter expectations, supporting the longer-term growth outlook. AXTI Q3 Earnings Call Highlights AI Demand and Capacity Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability improved sharply: GAAP gross margin reached approximately 56%, versus 44.9% in the prior quarter and 22.3% a year earlier, while GAAP diluted EPS rose to $0.39 from $0.17. Wedbush also praised AXT’s management following the results. AXT in focus as Wedbush likens management to Jaws hero after strong results
• Neutral Sentiment: B. Riley raised its price target modestly to $56 from $55 but maintained a Neutral rating, indicating limited near-term upside at recent trading levels. B. Riley Financial Ratings
• Negative Sentiment: The decline appears partly driven by profit-taking and risk reduction ahead of earnings after a sharp momentum rally. The stock’s high valuation, semiconductor volatility and sensitivity to export permits and China-related approvals may be prompting investors to lock in gains. AXT Falls as Investors Appear to Take Profits Ahead of Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Reported insider activity shows 16 open-market sales and no purchases during the past six months, a potential supply and confidence concern for investors.

AXT Profile

AXT, Inc develops and manufactures compound semiconductor substrates used as the foundation for various high-performance electronic and optoelectronic devices. Its principal products include gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP), and germanium substrates, along with other specialty materials such as gallium antimonide and indium arsenide.

The company’s substrates are used in applications including wireless communications, fiber-optic and data-center networks, lasers, light-emitting diodes, solar cells, consumer electronics, and aerospace and defense systems.