AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Stock Falls 10.2% – What’s Next?

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI)’s share price dropped 10.2% during trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $38.90 and last traded at $39.1040. Approximately 3,193,690 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 10,243,923 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AXTI. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of AXT in a report on Thursday. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on AXT from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of AXT from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group set a $90.00 target price on AXT in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded AXT from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.80.

AXT Stock Down 7.7%

The stock has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.41 and a beta of 2.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.12.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.10. AXT had a net margin of 18.53% and a return on equity of 5.21%. The company had revenue of $73.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.00 million. As a group, analysts predict that AXT Inc will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AXT

In related news, Director Leonard Leblanc sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.07, for a total value of $384,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 113,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,868,303.03. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 5.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AXT

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dupree Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of AXT by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 14,349 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in AXT by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,408 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. bought a new position in AXT in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AXT by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its position in AXT by 143.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,269 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 49.52% of the company’s stock.

About AXT

AXT, Inc. develops and manufactures compound semiconductor substrate materials used to make electronic and optoelectronic devices. Its products include indium phosphide, gallium arsenide and germanium substrates, supplied in wafer form for use by semiconductor manufacturers. These materials support applications such as fiber-optic and data communications, wireless devices, lasers, LEDs and solar cells. AXT also provides substrate processing services, including wafer polishing and finishing. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Fremont, California, AXT serves customers around the world.