AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $58.51, but opened at $61.20. AXT shares last traded at $61.9020, with a volume of 3,868,831 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush upped their price target on AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Northland Securities set a $20.00 price objective on AXT in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Needham & Company LLC downgraded AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen raised AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Craig Hallum restated a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a report on Friday, January 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.80.

AXT Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -126.31 and a beta of 1.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $34.37 and a 200-day moving average of $18.76.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last posted its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.24 million. On average, research analysts forecast that AXT Inc will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AXT news, Director Jesse Chen sold 8,083 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.25, for a total value of $406,170.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 109,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,503,681.50. The trade was a 6.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $920,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 72,744 shares in the company, valued at $3,346,224. This represents a 21.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 502,278 shares of company stock worth $21,196,754. 8.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in AXT by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,952 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,540 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AXT by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,967 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 3,467 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of AXT in the 4th quarter worth $69,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of AXT in the fourth quarter worth $98,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in shares of AXT by 31.9% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 28,800 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 6,970 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.