AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• AXT shares opened sharply lower, falling from the previous close of $60.43 to $56.89 before later trading around $64.02 on volume of nearly 2.9 million shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with a $77 price target, while individual targets range from $52 to $125. Needham upgraded the stock to Buy, whereas B. Riley cut its target and maintained a Neutral rating.
• AXT exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.19 in earnings per share and $47.59 million in revenue versus estimates of $0.07 and $34.08 million, respectively. However, insiders sold roughly 251,636 shares worth $27.8 million during the latest quarter.

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $60.43, but opened at $56.89. AXT shares last traded at $64.0240, with a volume of 2,915,987 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXTI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. B. Riley Financial decreased their target price on AXT from $73.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded AXT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday. UBS Group set a $90.00 price target on AXT in a research note on Friday. Northland Securities set a $125.00 price objective on shares of AXT in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of AXT from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.00.

AXT Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.01. The stock has a market cap of $4.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3,441.30 and a beta of 1.90.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.12. AXT had a return on equity of 1.55% and a net margin of 3.23%.The company had revenue of $47.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.08 million. AXT has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.300-0.320 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AXT Inc will post 0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AXT

In other AXT news, Director David C. Chang sold 8,333 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.17, for a total value of $926,379.61. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 65,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,244,393.05. This represents a 11.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Morris S. Young sold 123,601 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.33, for a total transaction of $14,007,701.33. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,149,533 shares in the company, valued at $243,606,574.89. This represents a 5.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 251,636 shares of company stock valued at $27,789,677. 5.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AXTI. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in AXT during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXT during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of AXT during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AXT during the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of AXT in the first quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.52% of the company's stock.

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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