AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Up 13.5% – Time to Buy?

Shares of AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) shot up 13.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $37.20 and last traded at $36.74. 3,895,277 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 8,087,968 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AXTI. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on shares of AXT to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Northland Securities set a $20.00 target price on AXT in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.80.

AXT Stock Up 14.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of -76.87 and a beta of 1.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.46 and a 200-day moving average of $13.55.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $23.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.24 million. AXT had a negative return on equity of 10.59% and a negative net margin of 24.07%. Equities research analysts expect that AXT Inc will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AXT news, Director David C. Chang sold 25,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director directly owned 132,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,969,920.96. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Morris S. Young sold 159,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.32, for a total transaction of $6,911,099.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,482,038 shares in the company, valued at $107,521,886.16. The trade was a 6.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 246,810 shares of company stock worth $9,782,640 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AXT

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AXTI. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of AXT by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,952 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 2,540 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 3,467 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in AXT in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in AXT in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its stake in AXT by 31.9% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 28,800 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 6,970 shares during the last quarter. 49.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.