AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Director Leonard Leblanc Sells 2,000 Shares

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) Director Leonard Leblanc sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total transaction of $176,620.00. Following the sale, the director owned 117,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,343,661.99. This trade represents a 1.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

AXT Trading Down 10.8%

Shares of NASDAQ AXTI opened at $73.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 3,671.50 and a beta of 1.90. AXT Inc has a 1-year low of $2.20 and a 1-year high of $143.16. The business’s 50 day moving average is $68.06 and its 200-day moving average is $67.26.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $47.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.08 million. AXT had a return on equity of 0.96% and a net margin of 3.23%.AXT has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.300-0.320 EPS. Analysts forecast that AXT Inc will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting AXT

Here are the key news stories impacting AXT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AXT’s record InP revenue, backlog exceeding $100 million and planned capacity expansion point to a potentially multiyear growth opportunity as AI data centers drive demand for optical components. AXT’s InP Demand Is Surging: Can It Become a Long-Term Growth Driver?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent reports attributed prior strength in AXTI to tightening indium phosphide supply and new AI-related deals, supporting the view that AXT could benefit from increased optical-networking demand. Why AXT Is Up 11.6% After Indium Phosphide Supply Tightens Amid New AI Deals
• Neutral Sentiment: Tradr launched an exchange-traded fund featuring AXT and other optics and AI companies. The product could increase trading visibility and investor access, but its direct effect on AXT’s fundamentals remains uncertain. Tradr Debuts First-to-Market ETFs on Meta, AXT, Coherent & Lightwave Logic
• Negative Sentiment: AXTI has been caught in a broad selloff across optics and AI-hardware stocks as investors reassess the pace of AI spending and take profits after substantial sector gains. This risk-off backdrop is offsetting the company’s favorable InP demand outlook. Optics Stocks Drop on Anthropic News
• Negative Sentiment: Director Leonard Leblanc sold 4,000 AXTI shares for approximately $384,280 on August 17, following additional sales of 2,000 shares in August and 500 shares in June. Although he still owns more than 113,000 shares, the repeated transactions may raise a modest insider-confidence concern. Leonard Leblanc Sells 4,000 Shares of AXT Stock

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on AXTI shares. Zacks Research raised shares of AXT from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. B. Riley Financial cut their price target on AXT from $73.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group set a $90.00 price target on AXT in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded AXT from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded AXT from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of AXT in the 2nd quarter valued at $365,607,000. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong bought a new stake in shares of AXT during the 4th quarter worth $22,738,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in AXT in the fourth quarter valued at about $20,187,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in AXT by 161.9% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,505,354 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $85,775,000 after acquiring an additional 930,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in AXT by 1,314.6% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 904,599 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $14,790,000 after acquiring an additional 840,650 shares during the last quarter. 49.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.