AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.80.

A number of research analysts recently commented on AXTI shares. Wall Street Zen raised AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Northland Securities set a $20.00 target price on shares of AXT in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th.

Insider Activity

In other AXT news, CEO Morris S. Young sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.05, for a total transaction of $421,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,495,564 shares in the company, valued at $30,071,546.20. This trade represents a 1.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 25,000 shares of the company’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 value of $371,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 132,744 shares in the company, valued at $1,969,920.96. This trade represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 85,000 shares of company stock worth $1,101,000 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in AXT during the second quarter valued at $42,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AXT during the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of AXT during the 4th quarter valued at about $69,000. Creative Planning bought a new position in shares of AXT in the 2nd quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in AXT in the fourth quarter worth about $98,000. Institutional investors own 49.52% of the company’s stock.

AXT Stock Performance

Shares of AXT stock opened at $37.90 on Friday. AXT has a fifty-two week low of $1.13 and a fifty-two week high of $41.19. The company has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -78.96 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a fifty day moving average of $21.99 and a 200 day moving average of $12.10.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $23.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.24 million. AXT had a negative net margin of 24.07% and a negative return on equity of 10.59%. Analysts forecast that AXT will post -0.12 EPS for the current 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.