AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) Short Interest Up 15.4% in April

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 8,289,731 shares, an increase of 15.4% from the March 31st total of 7,181,514 shares. Currently, 15.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 14,515,198 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days.

AXT Stock Up 11.5%

Shares of AXTI stock opened at $79.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -165.04 and a beta of 1.51. AXT has a 12 month low of $1.23 and a 12 month high of $90.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $55.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.83.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.01. AXT had a negative net margin of 24.07% and a negative return on equity of 9.50%. The company had revenue of $26.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.22 million. AXT has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.060-0.080 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that AXT will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other AXT news, Director Jesse Chen sold 15,000 shares of AXT stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.13, for a total value of $706,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 123,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,825,833.56. The trade was a 10.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $6,911,099.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,482,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $107,521,886.16. This represents a 6.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 502,278 shares of company stock worth $21,196,754. Insiders own 5.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AXT

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AXTI. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of AXT in the 1st quarter worth $1,162,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in AXT by 6.8% in the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,408 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AXT in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Ariose Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AXT during the 1st quarter worth about $39,061,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXT during the 1st quarter worth about $12,786,000. Institutional investors own 49.52% of the company's stock.

More AXT News

Here are the key news stories impacting AXT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Raised Q2 guidance well above Street — AXT set Q2 FY26 EPS guidance of $0.060–0.080 versus a consensus loss (~-$0.01) and revenue guidance of $34.0M vs. a ~$30.3M consensus, signaling stronger demand and margin improvement ahead.
• Positive Sentiment: Completed a large capital raise to fund expansion — Management said it completed a $632.5M capital raise to support Tongmei’s indium phosphide capacity expansion and R&D investment, improving the company’s ability to execute growth plans. AXT, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results: small beat on EPS and revenue — Q1 revenue of ~$26.9M (+39% YoY) and EPS of ($0.01) topped expectations (consensus ~($0.04)), showing better-than-expected quarter performance and supporting the upbeat guidance. AXT Q1 Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Underwritten equity offering / dilution — Recent filings disclosed an underwritten offering (≈8.56M shares at $64.25, ~ $550M) to raise capital; while funding supports growth, it also introduces dilution risk that investors will monitor. AXT shares jump as investors position ahead of Q1 earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Wide analyst spread on targets — Recent analyst price targets vary sharply (e.g., Wedbush $80 vs. B. Riley $21), reflecting disagreement on execution and valuation; that divergence can amplify volatility as the story evolves.
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual put buying — There was a significant uptick in put option purchases (26,242 puts, ~+53% vs. average), indicating some traders positioned for near-term downside or used hedges around the earnings event.
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy insider selling and balance-sheet items flagged — Public data show many insider sales in recent months and Quiver-highlighted items (Q1 operating loss, higher liabilities). These raise governance/conviction concerns for some investors. AXT Inc (AXTI) Stock Falls on Q1 2026 Earnings

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXTI. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AXT from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of AXT from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on shares of AXT in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, B. Riley Financial raised their price target on shares of AXT to $21.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Two equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.80.

AXT Company Profile

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.

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