AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Shares of AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $25.83, but opened at $21.57. AXT shares last traded at $24.7510, with a volume of 6,740,013 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Northland Securities set a $20.00 price target on AXT in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on AXT from $5.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AXT in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wedbush set a $7.00 target price on AXT and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AXT currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.75.

AXT Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of -44.52 and a beta of 1.94.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $27.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.85 million. AXT had a negative return on equity of 11.19% and a negative net margin of 25.22%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AXT Inc will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Leonard J. Leblanc sold 3,637 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.41, for a total transaction of $30,587.17. Following the sale, the director directly owned 118,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,738.75. This represents a 2.97% 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. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.94, for a total value of $894,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 207,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,857,231.36. This trade represents a 32.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 326,767 shares of company stock valued at $3,329,808. Company insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXT

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AXT during the second quarter valued at $42,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AXT during the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AXT by 100.0% during the second quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 39,150 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 19,575 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning purchased a new position in AXT in the 2nd quarter worth about $86,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in AXT by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,952 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 2,540 shares during the period. 49.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.