AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Stock Price Up 9.6% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• AXT shares rose 9.6% to about $84.86 in mid-day trading, despite volume running 69% below the average session level.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $77.00; however, that target is below the current share price.
• AXT beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.19 in EPS versus $0.07 expected and revenue of $47.59 million versus $34.08 million. Insiders sold roughly $27.8 million of stock during the last quarter, adding a potential cautionary signal.

Shares of AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report) traded up 9.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $84.42 and last traded at $84.8630. Approximately 3,177,156 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 10,399,645 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.45.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXTI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded 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 target on AXT in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. 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, July 31st. B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on AXT from $73.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group set a $90.00 price objective on shares of AXT in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.00.

AXT Stock Up 2.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a PE ratio of 3,989.95 and a beta of 1.90. The firm's 50-day moving average is $68.26 and its 200-day moving average is $65.39.

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, beating 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 business had revenue of $47.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.08 million. AXT has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.300-0.320 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AXT Inc will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXT

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Algert Global LLC boosted its position in AXT by 4.8% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 33,770 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,434,000 after buying an additional 1,540 shares during the period. Tairen Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of AXT in the second quarter worth about $10,091,000. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD purchased a new position in shares of AXT in the second quarter worth about $1,045,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AXT in the 2nd quarter valued at about $245,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in AXT during the 2nd quarter valued at about $287,000. Hedge funds and other 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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