AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $82.19 and last traded at $81.78, with a volume of 16770532 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $62.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AXTI shares. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on AXT to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $20.00 target price on AXT in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.80.

AXT Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -172.00 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $46.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.55.

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). AXT had a negative return on equity of 9.50% and a negative net margin of 24.07%.The business had revenue of $23.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.24 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AXT Inc will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AXT

In other news, CEO Morris S. Young sold 159,536 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.32, for a total transaction of $6,911,099.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,482,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,521,886.16. The trade was a 6.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.53, for a total value of $770,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 112,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,344,026.32. This trade represents a 15.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 502,278 shares of company stock valued at $21,196,754. Corporate insiders own 5.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXT

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Destination Wealth Management acquired a new position in AXT in the 3rd quarter worth about $458,000. Penn Capital Management Company LLC acquired a new position in AXT in the 3rd quarter worth about $729,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in AXT by 2,404.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 574,828 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,398,000 after purchasing an additional 551,876 shares in the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased 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 purchasing an additional 23,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. acquired a new position in AXT in the 3rd quarter worth about $112,000. 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.