AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Key Points

• AXT shares fell 3.3%, opening at $79.78 after closing at $84.06, with roughly 1.87 million shares traded.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: AXT has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $77, including a target cut by B. Riley to $52 and a $90 target from UBS and Needham.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.19 in EPS versus a $0.07 estimate and $47.59 million in revenue versus a $34.08 million forecast; institutional investors own 49.52% of the stock.

Shares of AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $84.06, but opened at $79.78. AXT shares last traded at $80.4280, with a volume of 1,866,394 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley Financial reduced their target price on shares of AXT from $73.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group set a $90.00 target price on AXT in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded AXT from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Needham & Company LLC raised AXT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded AXT from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AXT presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.00.

AXT Trading Down 3.3%

The firm has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 4,083.10 and a beta of 1.86. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $70.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.98.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AXT news, Director Leonard Leblanc sold 4,000 shares of AXT stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.07, for a total transaction of $384,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 113,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,868,303.03. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 5.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXT

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in AXT during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $365,607,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in AXT by 161.9% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,505,354 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $85,775,000 after purchasing an additional 930,526 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of AXT during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,062,000. Ariose Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of AXT during the 1st quarter valued at $39,061,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of AXT in the second quarter worth $25,911,000. 49.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AXT Company Profile

AXT, Inc NASDAQ: AXTI develops and manufactures compound semiconductor substrate materials used in high-performance electronic and optoelectronic devices. Its primary products include gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP), and germanium substrates, which serve as the foundation for semiconductor components.

The company's substrates are used in applications such as fiber-optic communications, data-center and telecommunications equipment, wireless infrastructure, radio-frequency devices, lasers, light-emitting diodes, and certain solar cells.

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