AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Up 8.4% – Time to Buy?

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI)’s share price rose 8.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $52.48 and last traded at $52.86. Approximately 4,644,729 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 8,549,638 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXTI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Northland Securities set a $20.00 price objective on AXT in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wedbush increased their target price on AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on AXT in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen raised AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AXT currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.80.

AXT Stock Up 9.9%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -111.23 and a beta of 1.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.99 and a 200-day moving average of $15.89.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $23.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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, research analysts expect that AXT Inc will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AXT news, CEO Morris S. Young sold 159,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.32, for a total value of $6,911,099.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,482,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $107,521,886.16. This trade represents a 6.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.53, for a total transaction of $770,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 112,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,344,026.32. The trade was a 15.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 502,278 shares of company stock worth $21,196,754. Company insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXTI. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of AXT by 12.4% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,952 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,540 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AXT by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,967 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 3,467 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new position in AXT in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in AXT in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its position in AXT by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 28,800 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 6,970 shares during the period. 49.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.