AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) Short Interest Up 40.6% in December

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,829,634 shares, a growth of 40.6% from the November 30th total of 2,012,066 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,113,573 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Approximately 6.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Approximately 6.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,113,573 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days.

Insider Activity at AXT

In related news, CEO Morris S. Young sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.65, for a total value of $692,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,439,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,101,588.50. This trade represents a 3.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Leonard J. Leblanc sold 3,637 shares of AXT stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.41, for a total transaction of $30,587.17. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 118,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,738.75. This trade represents a 2.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 326,767 shares of company stock worth $3,329,808 over the last quarter. 8.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXT

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in AXT during the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AXT during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of AXT by 12.4% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,952 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 2,540 shares in the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its holdings in AXT by 2,333,600.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 23,337 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 23,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new position in AXT in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $112,000. 49.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXTI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of AXT from $5.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wedbush set a $7.00 price objective on AXT and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AXT in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Northland Securities set a $20.00 target price on AXT in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price target on AXT from $4.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.50.

AXT Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AXTI opened at $15.37 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.71. AXT has a fifty-two week low of $1.13 and a fifty-two week high of $16.90. The company has a market capitalization of $716.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.56 and a beta of 1.97.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.04) earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $27.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.85 million. On average, analysts forecast that AXT will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.