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

Key Points

• AXT shares gapped down at the open, falling from a prior close of $57.57 to $55.77 before trading around $56.92 on heavy volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Northland Securities set a $125 price target, while MarketBeat shows a consensus Hold rating with an average target of $43.80.
• Recent company updates include a better-than-expected quarterly result and insider selling, with directors David C. Chang and Jesse Chen both reducing their stakes in June.

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $57.57, but opened at $55.77. AXT shares last traded at $56.9240, with a volume of 877,485 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AXTI. Northland Securities set a $125.00 target price on AXT in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AXT from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AXT currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $43.80.

AXT Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.22. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -170.81 and a beta of 1.86.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $26.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.22 million. AXT had a negative return on equity of 5.71% and a negative net margin of 14.69%.AXT has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.060-0.080 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AXT Inc will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXT

In other news, Director David C. Chang sold 8,333 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 65,165 shares in the company, valued at $7,244,393.05. This represents a 11.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jesse Chen sold 13,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.77, for a total transaction of $1,245,010.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 56,447 shares in the company, valued at $5,405,929.19. The trade was a 18.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 251,636 shares of company stock worth $27,789,677. Corporate insiders own 5.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in AXT by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,408 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in AXT during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in AXT during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in AXT during the first quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Tema ETFs LLC bought a new position in AXT during the second quarter worth about $105,000. 49.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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