AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Down 7% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• AXT shares fell 7% intraday to about $73.43, with trading volume substantially below its average. The stock has a $4.83 billion market capitalization and trades at an exceptionally high P/E ratio of roughly 3,672.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.00. Recent targets include $90 from Needham and UBS and $125 from Northland Securities.
• AXT exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.19 in EPS versus a $0.07 estimate and revenue of $47.59 million versus $34.08 million expected. However, an insider sold 4,000 shares at an average price of $96.07, while institutional investors own 49.52% of the company.

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 7% during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as low as $72.63 and last traded at $73.4260. 1,706,556 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 10,191,919 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXTI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research raised AXT from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AXT from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Northland Securities set a $125.00 target price on shares of AXT in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of AXT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group set a $90.00 price target on shares of AXT in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.00.

AXT Trading Down 6.7%

The company has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 3,672.25 and a beta of 1.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $65.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.30.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $47.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.08 million. AXT had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 0.96%. AXT has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.300-0.320 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AXT Inc will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Leonard Leblanc sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.07, for a total value of $384,280.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 113,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,868,303.03. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.97% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXT

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AXTI. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AXT in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in AXT in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in AXT in the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in AXT during the 1st quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, Tema ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in AXT during the 2nd quarter valued at $105,000. Institutional investors own 49.52% of the company's stock.

AXT Company Profile

AXT, Inc NASDAQ: AXTI develops and manufactures compound semiconductor substrates used to produce high-performance electronic and optoelectronic devices. Its product portfolio includes gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP), and germanium substrates, along with related materials and services supporting semiconductor manufacturing.

The company's substrates are used in applications such as wireless communications, fiber-optic and data-center networking, optical sensing, laser devices, aerospace and defense systems, and solar cells.

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