AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) Short Interest Up 36.4% in February

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) saw a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 6,081,351 shares, a growth of 36.4% from the January 29th total of 4,457,894 shares. Approximately 12.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,472,699 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,472,699 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days. Approximately 12.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David C. Chang sold 25,000 shares of AXT stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 132,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,969,920.96. This trade represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Morris S. Young sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.05, for a total value of $421,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,495,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,071,546.20. This represents a 1.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 85,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,101,000. 8.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in AXT by 173.7% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 35,201 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 22,338 shares during the period. SummitTX Capital L.P. bought a new stake in shares of AXT during the fourth quarter worth about $228,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of AXT in the 4th quarter worth about $278,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in AXT by 577.2% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 205,503 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,360,000 after acquiring an additional 175,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXT in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,041,000. 49.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AXT Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ AXTI opened at $37.90 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of -78.96 and a beta of 1.96. AXT has a twelve month low of $1.13 and a twelve month high of $41.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.23.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.