Short Interest in AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) Expands By 44.8%

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,098,563 shares, an increase of 44.8% from the December 15th total of 2,829,634 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,302,834 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days. Approximately 8.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Approximately 8.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 4,302,834 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AXT in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered AXT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. B. Riley downgraded AXT from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Northland Securities set a $20.00 price objective on shares of AXT in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.75.

Insider Transactions at AXT

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

Institutional Trading of AXT

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of AXT by 2,404.5% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AXT by 339.6% during the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 405,978 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,823,000 after acquiring an additional 313,618 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC purchased a new position in AXT in the third quarter worth $729,000. Destination Wealth Management bought a new position in AXT in the 3rd quarter valued at $458,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in AXT by 39.7% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 205,822 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 58,542 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 49.52% of the company’s stock.

AXT Stock Performance

Shares of AXT stock traded down $3.63 on Friday, reaching $22.09. 6,508,896 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,780,799. The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.48 and a beta of 1.94. AXT has a 52 week low of $1.13 and a 52 week high of $26.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $14.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.59.

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 the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $27.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.85 million. On average, analysts expect that AXT will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.