AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Down 6.2% – Here’s What Happened

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI)’s stock price traded down 6.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $16.53 and last traded at $16.6990. 4,894,047 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 8,354,315 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXTI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AXT in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Northland Securities set a $20.00 price objective on AXT in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut AXT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Needham & Company LLC lowered AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, B. Riley lowered shares of AXT from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $9.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.75.

AXT Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $905.32 million, a P/E ratio of -31.50 and a beta of 1.94.

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, beating 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 company had revenue of $27.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.85 million. Equities analysts predict that AXT Inc will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $421,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,495,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,071,546.20. This represents a 1.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.84, for a total transaction of $371,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 132,744 shares in the company, valued at $1,969,920.96. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 326,767 shares of company stock valued at $3,329,808 over the last three months. Company insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. White Pine Capital LLC increased its holdings in AXT by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 860,411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 23,467 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of AXT by 2,404.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in AXT in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $136,000. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in AXT by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 28,800 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 6,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AXT during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $112,000. 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.