Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI)

Key Points

• Traders bought 26,242 put options on AXT on Thursday, roughly a 53% increase versus the average daily put volume, indicating elevated bearish positioning or hedging activity.
• Company insiders have been net sellers, offloading 502,278 shares worth about $21.2 million over the last quarter, though insiders still own roughly 5.97% of the company.
• Despite the put activity and recent EPS misses, shares rose about 11.6% to $79.29 on heavy volume, while analysts maintain a consensus "Hold" rating with a $22.80 average price target.

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 26,242 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 53% compared to the average daily volume of 17,201 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXTI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Craig Hallum reissued a "buy" rating on shares of AXT in a research note on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on shares of AXT in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AXT from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered AXT from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David C. Chang sold 20,000 shares of AXT stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $920,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 72,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,346,224. The trade was a 21.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jesse Chen sold 8,083 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.25, for a total value of $406,170.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 109,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,503,681.50. This represents a 6.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 502,278 shares of company stock worth $21,196,754 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXTI. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of AXT in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AXT in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AXT in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of AXT in the third quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of AXT during the 1st quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors own 49.52% of the company's stock.

AXT Stock Up 11.6%

Shares of AXTI traded up $8.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $79.29. 6,471,129 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,383,859. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $54.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.48. AXT has a twelve month low of $1.23 and a twelve month high of $90.10. The stock has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -164.17 and a beta of 1.51.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $23.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.24 million. AXT had a negative net margin of 24.07% and a negative return on equity of 9.50%. On average, equities analysts predict that AXT will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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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