AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• AXT has a consensus broker recommendation of Hold (1 sell, 2 hold, 2 buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $22.80 — far below the recent share price (~$68.44, one‑year high $70.69).
• The company missed quarterly estimates (EPS $‑0.05 vs. $‑0.04 expected; revenue $23.04M vs. $24.24M), reports negative margins and a negative PE, and insiders sold roughly 502,278 shares (~$21.2M) last quarter — trimming insider ownership to 8.8%.

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.80.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Craig Hallum restated a "buy" rating on shares of AXT in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen raised AXT from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Northland Securities set a $20.00 target price on shares of AXT in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their price target on shares of AXT to $21.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th.

AXT Price Performance

Shares of AXTI opened at $68.44 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of -142.58 and a beta of 1.75. AXT has a one year low of $1.13 and a one year high of $70.69.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $23.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.24 million. Analysts expect that AXT will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AXT news, CEO Morris S. Young sold 37,905 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.13, for a total transaction of $1,938,082.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,275,328 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $116,337,520.64. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jesse Chen sold 8,083 shares of AXT stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.25, for a total transaction of $406,170.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 109,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,503,681.50. The trade was a 6.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 502,278 shares of company stock worth $21,196,754. 8.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AXT in the second quarter worth $42,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in AXT in the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in AXT in the 4th quarter worth about $69,000. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in AXT during the 2nd quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in AXT during the 4th quarter valued at about $98,000. 49.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.