AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $28.43, but opened at $29.82. AXT shares last traded at $32.3630, with a volume of 3,101,466 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXTI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush raised their target price on AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Northland Securities set a $20.00 price objective on shares of AXT in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on shares of AXT in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.80.

AXT Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of -71.88 and a beta of 1.96. The business’s 50 day moving average is $20.05 and its 200-day moving average is $11.23.

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

Insider Transactions at AXT

In other news, CEO Morris S. Young sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.05, for a total transaction of $421,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,495,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,071,546.20. This represents a 1.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 25,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 132,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,969,920.96. This trade represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 110,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,369,000 over the last ninety days. 8.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong acquired a new position in AXT in the fourth quarter valued at $22,738,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of AXT in the 4th quarter valued at about $20,187,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 840,650 shares during the period. White Pine Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of AXT by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 860,411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 23,467 shares during the period. Finally, Maytree Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in AXT during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,156,000. 49.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.