AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Trading Up 12.4% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• AXT shares jumped 12.4% Thursday to an intraday high of $62.38 (last $59.79), though trading volume (~6.47M shares) was about 34% below the average.
• Analysts hold a consensus "Hold" with an average price target of $22.80, well below the current share price, even as individual targets vary widely (e.g., Wedbush $28, Northland $20).
• AXT missed the quarter (EPS -$0.05 vs. -$0.04 expected; revenue $23.04M vs. $24.24M expected) and insiders have sold heavily—over 502,278 shares (~$21.2M) in the last 90 days.

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 12.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $62.38 and last traded at $59.7930. Approximately 6,467,773 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 9,818,428 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on AXTI shares. Northland Securities set a $20.00 price target on shares of AXT in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AXT from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on shares of AXT to $21.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of AXT from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. 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. According to MarketBeat, AXT has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.80.

AXT Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $39.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of -125.40 and a beta of 1.51.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $24.24 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that AXT Inc will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AXT

In other news, Director David C. Chang sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $920,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 72,744 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,346,224. This represents a 21.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Morris S. Young sold 37,905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.13, for a total transaction of $1,938,082.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,275,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,337,520.64. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 502,278 shares of company stock valued at $21,196,754 in the last ninety days. 8.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong acquired a new position in shares of AXT during the 4th quarter worth about $22,738,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of AXT during the 4th quarter worth about $20,187,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew 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 buying an additional 840,650 shares during the period. Maytree Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of AXT during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,156,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in AXT by 2,404.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 574,828 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $9,398,000 after buying an additional 551,876 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.52% of the company's stock.

About AXT

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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