AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Trading Down 8.7% – Time to Sell?

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI)’s stock price dropped 8.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $27.04 and last traded at $27.0960. Approximately 3,427,045 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 7,651,853 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AXTI shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a report on Friday, January 9th. Northland Securities set a $20.00 price target on AXT in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on shares of AXT to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut shares of AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.80.

AXT Trading Down 4.2%

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -59.23 and a beta of 1.96.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.01). AXT had a negative return on equity of 10.59% and a negative net margin of 24.07%.The company had revenue of $23.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.24 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AXT Inc will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Morris S. Young sold 35,000 shares of AXT stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.05, for a total value of $421,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,495,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,071,546.20. This trade represents a 1.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.84, for a total value of $371,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 132,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,969,920.96. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 110,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,369,000. Insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AXT

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AXTI. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of AXT by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 293,818 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 8,039 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in AXT during the 2nd quarter valued at $86,000. White Pine Capital LLC lifted its stake in AXT by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 860,411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,798,000 after acquiring an additional 23,467 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AXT in the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of AXT by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,952 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $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.