AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) CEO Sells $1,938,082.65 in Stock

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) CEO Morris Young sold 37,905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.13, for a total transaction of $1,938,082.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,275,328 shares in the company, valued at $116,337,520.64. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

AXT Price Performance

AXTI stock traded down $0.47 during trading on Monday, reaching $48.39. 11,052,552 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,581,526. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.05. AXT Inc has a 52-week low of $1.13 and a 52-week high of $52.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of -100.81 and a beta of 1.74.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong bought a new position in AXT during the fourth quarter valued at about $22,738,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in AXT during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,187,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in AXT by 1,314.6% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 904,599 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $14,790,000 after buying an additional 840,650 shares during the last quarter. Maytree Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in AXT in the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,156,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in AXT by 2,404.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 574,828 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,398,000 after buying an additional 551,876 shares in the last quarter. 49.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXTI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on AXT to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Northland Securities set a $20.00 price target on AXT in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.80.

AXT Company Profile

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.