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

Key Points

• AXT shares gapped up at the open, rising from a prior close of $50.46 to an opening price of $54.82 and trading as high as $56.07 on heavy volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Weiss Ratings upgraded AXT slightly, while Northland Securities set a much higher $125 price target. MarketBeat data shows an overall Hold rating with an average target of $43.80.
• The company recently reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and revenue above estimates, while insiders have been selling stock and institutions now own about 49.5% of the company.

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $50.46, but opened at $54.82. AXT shares last traded at $56.0690, with a volume of 1,976,745 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXTI has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AXT from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Northland Securities set a $125.00 price objective on AXT in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $43.80.

AXT Price Performance

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $94.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -180.82 and a beta of 1.86.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AXT

In other news, Director Jesse Chen sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.77, for a total value of $1,245,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 56,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,405,929.19. This represents a 18.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Morris S. Young sold 123,601 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.33, for a total transaction of $14,007,701.33. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,149,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,606,574.89. The trade was a 5.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 251,636 shares of company stock worth $27,789,677 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.97% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds 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. boosted its position in AXT by 161.9% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,505,354 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $85,775,000 after buying an additional 930,526 shares in the last quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong acquired a new position in shares of AXT during the fourth quarter worth $22,738,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of AXT in the 4th quarter valued at $20,187,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of AXT by 1,314.6% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 904,599 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $14,790,000 after acquiring an additional 840,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of AXT by 112.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 776,300 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $44,234,000 after acquiring an additional 410,181 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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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