Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $9.40 Million Holdings in AXT Inc $AXTI

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in AXT by 2,404.5%, buying 551,876 shares to hold 574,828 shares (about $9.40 million or ~1.04% of the company).
• Company insiders have been net sellers—directors David C. Chang and Jesse Chen sold 20,000 and 8,083 shares respectively, and insiders sold a total of 502,278 shares worth $21.2 million over the last quarter, leaving insiders with 8.8% ownership.
• AXT is trading around $60.63 with a market cap of $3.37 billion but remains unprofitable (negative EPS and net margin); analysts are mixed and the average price target is $22.80.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI - Free Report) by 2,404.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 574,828 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 551,876 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 1.04% of AXT worth $9,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in AXT during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in AXT during the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Creative Planning bought a new position in shares of AXT in the second quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of AXT by 2,333,600.0% in the third quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 23,337 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 23,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AXT in the third quarter valued at $112,000. 49.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David C. Chang sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $920,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 72,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,346,224. This represents a 21.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jesse Chen sold 8,083 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.25, for a total transaction of $406,170.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 109,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,503,681.50. The trade was a 6.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 502,278 shares of company stock valued at $21,196,754. 8.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AXT Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:AXTI opened at $60.63 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $34.37 and a 200-day moving average of $18.65. AXT Inc has a 12 month low of $1.13 and a 12 month high of $70.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of -126.31 and a beta of 1.75.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $23.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.24 million. AXT had a negative net margin of 24.07% and a negative return on equity of 9.50%. On average, research analysts predict that AXT Inc will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXTI has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on AXT in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC lowered AXT from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen raised AXT from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their price target on AXT to $21.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.80.

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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