AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• AXT shares gapped higher, opening at $83.05 versus a prior close of $73.78, before trading near $77.11 on substantial volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Needham upgraded AXT to “buy” with a $90 target, while B. Riley lowered its target to $52 and maintained a “neutral” rating. The overall consensus remains “hold,” with an average price target of $77.
• AXT exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.19 in EPS versus $0.07 expected and $47.59 million in revenue versus $34.08 million forecast. However, insiders sold approximately $27.8 million of stock over the past 90 days.

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $73.78, but opened at $83.05. AXT shares last traded at $77.1050, with a volume of 3,633,305 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group set a $90.00 price objective on shares of AXT in a report on Friday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of AXT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. B. Riley Financial dropped their price objective on shares of AXT from $73.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Northland Securities set a $125.00 target price on shares of AXT in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised AXT from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.00.

AXT Price Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is $69.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 3,883.00 and a beta of 1.90.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $47.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.08 million. AXT had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 1.55%. AXT has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.300-0.320 EPS. On average, 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 business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.17, for a total transaction of $926,379.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 65,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,244,393.05. The trade was a 11.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Morris S. Young sold 123,601 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong bought a new stake in shares of AXT in the 4th quarter valued at about $22,738,000. Maytree Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in AXT during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,156,000. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in AXT during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,670,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new position in AXT during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,395,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in AXT by 3,764.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 11,594 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 11,294 shares in the last quarter. 49.52% of the stock is owned by 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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