AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Stock Price Up 6.9% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares jumped 6.9% to about $73.42 in mid-day trading, but that move came on only ~2.23 million shares — down ~78% from the stock's average daily volume — suggesting a potentially short‑lived or thinly traded spike.
• Wall Street views are mixed: analysts average a "Hold" rating with a consensus price target of $22.80, well below the current market price, reflecting wide divergence in expectations.
• Fundamentals show weakness — AXT missed quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, reports negative net margin and ROE, and insiders have sold substantial shares recently (502,278 shares in the last 90 days).

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 6.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $73.24 and last traded at $73.4170. Approximately 2,231,889 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 10,318,253 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXTI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of AXT from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Craig Hallum reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AXT in a research note on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group set a $35.00 price objective on shares of AXT in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AXT from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.80.

AXT Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -149.37 and a beta of 1.51. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $53.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.18.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.01). AXT had a negative return on equity of 9.50% and a negative net margin of 24.07%.The firm had revenue of $23.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.24 million. On average, research analysts predict that AXT Inc will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AXT

In other news, Director Jesse Chen sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.13, for a total transaction of $706,950.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 123,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,825,833.56. This trade represents a 10.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Morris S. Young sold 159,536 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.32, for a total transaction of $6,911,099.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,482,038 shares in the company, valued at $107,521,886.16. This represents a 6.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 502,278 shares of company stock valued at $21,196,754. 5.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in AXT in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of AXT in the 1st quarter valued at $57,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AXT in the 1st quarter valued at $108,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AXT by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,967 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 3,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of AXT in the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. 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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