Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC Makes New Investment in AXT Inc $AXTI

Key Points

• Cornerstone Investment Partners bought a new position in AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) in Q4, acquiring 16,793 shares worth about $275,000, while other institutions (notably Assenagon) materially increased holdings and institutional ownership stands near 49.5%.
• Company insiders have been net sellers: CEO Morris S. Young sold 159,536 shares (~$6.91M) and directors/other insiders sold a total of 502,278 shares worth roughly $21.2M over the last quarter, reducing insider ownership to about 5.97%.
• AXT reported a quarterly EPS miss (‑$0.05 vs. est. ‑$0.04) and negative margins, shares have been volatile (1‑yr range $1.23–$90.10) and analysts have a consensus "Hold" rating with an average price target of $22.80.

Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 16,793 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $275,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AXTI. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of AXT by 2,404.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 574,828 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $9,398,000 after purchasing an additional 551,876 shares during the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC bought a new stake in shares of AXT during the third quarter worth $729,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in shares of AXT by 39.7% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 205,822 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 58,542 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AXT during the third quarter worth $136,000. Finally, Destination Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of AXT during the third quarter worth $458,000. 49.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXT

In other AXT news, CEO Morris S. Young sold 159,536 shares of AXT stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.32, for a total value of $6,911,099.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,482,038 shares in the company, valued at $107,521,886.16. The trade was a 6.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jesse Chen sold 15,000 shares of AXT stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.13, for a total value of $706,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 123,612 shares in the company, valued at $5,825,833.56. This trade represents a 10.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 502,278 shares of company stock worth $21,196,754 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.97% of the company's stock.

AXT Price Performance

AXTI stock opened at $76.16 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $51.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.26. AXT Inc has a 1-year low of $1.23 and a 1-year high of $90.10. The company has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -158.66 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 net margin of 24.07% and a negative return on equity of 9.50%. The company had revenue of $23.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.24 million. On average, analysts anticipate that AXT Inc will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXTI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC downgraded AXT from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group set a $35.00 price objective on AXT in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on AXT to $21.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Craig Hallum restated a "buy" rating on shares of AXT in a report on Friday, January 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.80.

AXT 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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