AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $71.49 and last traded at $58.5530, with a volume of 1958778 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on shares of AXT to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Craig Hallum restated a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a research report on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on AXT in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.80.

AXT Stock Down 16.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -106.44 and a beta of 1.74. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $34.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.87.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $23.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.24 million. AXT had a negative return on equity of 9.50% and a negative net margin of 24.07%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AXT Inc will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AXT

In other news, CEO Morris S. Young sold 37,905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.13, for a total transaction 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 $116,337,520.64. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $920,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 72,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,346,224. The trade was a 21.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 502,278 shares of company stock valued at $21,196,754 over the last 90 days. 8.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Destination Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of AXT during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $458,000. Penn Capital Management Company LLC bought a new position in shares of AXT in the third quarter valued at $729,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in AXT by 2,333,600.0% during the third quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 23,337 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 23,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. acquired a new stake in AXT in the third quarter valued at $112,000. 49.52% of the stock is 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.