AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $63.95 and last traded at $63.2530, with a volume of 5744080 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $54.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXTI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush upped their target price on AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Craig Hallum reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a research report on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on AXT in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AXT presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.80.

AXT Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $32.04 and its 200-day moving average is $17.62. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -142.58 and a beta of 1.75.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.01). AXT had a negative return on equity of 9.50% and a negative net margin of 24.07%.The firm had revenue of $23.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.24 million. Analysts predict that AXT Inc will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Morris S. Young sold 37,905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.13, for a total value of $1,938,082.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,275,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,337,520.64. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jesse Chen sold 8,083 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.25, for a total value of $406,170.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 109,526 shares in the company, valued at $5,503,681.50. This trade represents a 6.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 502,278 shares of company stock valued at $21,196,754 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AXT in the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in AXT during the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in AXT during the fourth quarter worth approximately $69,000. Creative Planning purchased a new position in AXT during the second quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in AXT during the fourth quarter worth approximately $98,000. 49.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AXT

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.