AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. TheStreet downgraded shares of AXT from a “c-” rating to a “d” rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of AXT in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 price objective on shares of AXT in a report on Friday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.49.

AXT Stock Performance

AXTI opened at $2.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $98.24 million, a P/E ratio of -56.25 and a beta of 2.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $2.35 and a 200 day moving average of $2.84. AXT has a fifty-two week low of $1.89 and a fifty-two week high of $6.57.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The semiconductor company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.12). The company had revenue of $18.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.26 million. AXT had a negative net margin of 1.34% and a negative return on equity of 0.56%. Equities research analysts predict that AXT will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Granahan Investment Management LLC raised its stake in AXT by 9.0% in the first quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 1,562,282 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,218,000 after purchasing an additional 128,838 shares in the last quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC raised its stake in AXT by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,460,450 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,397,000 after purchasing an additional 225,000 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in AXT by 1.9% in the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,244,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,952,000 after purchasing an additional 23,200 shares in the last quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. raised its stake in AXT by 122.0% in the first quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 1,041,401 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,145,000 after purchasing an additional 572,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AXT by 5.6% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 797,960 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,176,000 after purchasing an additional 42,019 shares in the last quarter. 53.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AXT Company Profile

AXT, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes compound and single element semiconductor substrates. It produces semiconductor substrates using its proprietary vertical gradient freeze technology. The company offers indium phosphide for use in data center connectivity using light/lasers, 5G communications, fiber optic lasers and detectors, passive optical networks, silicon photonics, photonic integrated circuits, terrestrial solar cells, RF amplifier and switching, infrared light-emitting diode (LEDS) motion control, lidar for robotics and autonomous vehicles, and infrared thermal imaging.