AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $15.37, but opened at $14.24. AXT shares last traded at $15.7450, with a volume of 3,490,260 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AXTI shares. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on AXT from $5.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wedbush set a $7.00 price objective on shares of AXT and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Northland Securities set a $20.00 target price on AXT in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AXT in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, B. Riley increased their target price on AXT from $4.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.50.

AXT Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.71. The company has a market capitalization of $696.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.88 and a beta of 1.97.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.08. AXT had a negative net margin of 25.22% and a negative return on equity of 11.19%. The firm had revenue of $27.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.85 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AXT Inc will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AXT

In related news, Director David C. Chang sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.94, for a total transaction of $894,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 207,744 shares in the company, valued at $1,857,231.36. This represents a 32.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Morris S. Young sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.65, for a total transaction of $692,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,439,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,101,588.50. This represents a 3.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 326,767 shares of company stock worth $3,329,808 in the last 90 days. 8.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of AXT by 12.4% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,952 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,540 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in AXT by 31.9% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 28,800 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 6,970 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in AXT by 2.8% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 293,818 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 8,039 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in AXT in the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Atlas Brown Inc. increased its stake in AXT by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 39,150 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 19,575 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.52% of the company’s stock.

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.