AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $90.78, but opened at $95.71. AXT shares last traded at $91.9280, with a volume of 1,088,501 shares changing hands.

Key AXT News

Here are the key news stories impacting AXT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are focusing on AXT’s role in supplying indium phosphide substrates used in AI and data-center optical connectivity, with recent commentary highlighting strong demand and a backlog above $100 million, which supports the case for continued growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Trading momentum has also been helped by short-squeeze dynamics, as elevated short interest can amplify upside when buyers return to the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholders recently approved governance changes and an increase in authorized common shares, which gives AXT more flexibility to fund expansion and strategic initiatives. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s recent stock move has also drawn attention from broader market-movers coverage, reflecting unusually active trading in AXTI rather than a new company-specific announcement. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Director Jesse Chen filed multiple insider sales over June 8-10, including a large sale of 9,000 shares, and persistent insider selling can weigh on investor sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and news coverage continue to flag export-permit risk as a key uncertainty for AXT’s growth outlook, especially given its exposure to China-related supply chain and approval issues. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXTI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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. Northland Securities set a $125.00 price objective on AXT in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. UBS Group set a $35.00 price objective on AXT in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wedbush upped 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.80.

AXT Stock Up 8.8%

The firm has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of -275.12 and a beta of 1.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $90.87 and a 200 day moving average of $48.97.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.03. AXT had a negative net margin of 14.69% and a negative return on equity of 5.71%. The business had revenue of $26.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.22 million. AXT has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.060-0.080 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that AXT Inc will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jesse Chen sold 9,000 shares of AXT stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.73, for a total value of $780,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 78,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,803,708.31. The trade was a 10.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Morris S. Young sold 123,601 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.33, for a total value of $14,007,701.33. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,149,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,606,574.89. This represents a 5.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 270,119 shares of company stock valued at $27,251,280 over the last quarter. 5.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of AXT by 112.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 776,300 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,234,000 after buying an additional 410,181 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new stake in AXT in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,395,000. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in AXT in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,670,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in AXT by 38.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 15,229 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $868,000 after purchasing an additional 4,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rokos Capital Management LLP purchased a new stake in AXT in the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,842,000. 49.52% of the stock is currently 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.