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

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $47.35 and last traded at $46.4180, with a volume of 7099268 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.30.

AXT News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AXT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI/infrastructure narrative — Analysts and coverage note an optimistic outlook that AXT’s substrate and wafer products could benefit from AI infrastructure demand, supporting higher valuation expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual call buying — Earlier unusual activity showed ~14,442 call contracts bought (about +171% vs typical), signaling short‑term bullish/speculative positioning that can amplify upward moves. (market data)
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum rebound — The stock has been rallying after recent losses as bargain hunters and momentum traders piled in, contributing to the current upside. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reporting appears anomalous/zero in recent feeds, so there’s no clear evidence that short covering is driving moves — treat reported short data with caution. (market data)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Significant insider sales: CEO Morris S. Young sold 125,893 shares (Mar 9) and other recent tranches; Director Jesse Chen also sold multiple blocks. Large insider dispositions can be read negatively by the market. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Put buying spike — More recent unusual activity shows ~9,810 put contracts purchased (≈+73% vs typical put volume), which could reflect hedging or bearish/speculative bets that may cap rallies. (market data)
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed Q4 / FY2025 results — Revenue fell to $23.0M (down QoQ and YoY) and GAAP gross margin dipped to ~20.9%, undershooting some expectations and keeping near‑term execution concerns on the table. Read More.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group set a $35.00 price objective on shares of AXT in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. B. Riley Financial raised their target price on shares of AXT to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $20.00 price objective on AXT in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AXT has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.80.

AXT Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -98.54 and a beta of 1.75.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 10.59% and a negative net margin of 24.07%.The company had revenue of $23.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.24 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AXT Inc will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXT

In other news, Director David C. Chang sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.53, for a total value of $770,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 112,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,344,026.32. This represents a 15.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jesse Chen sold 12,452 shares of AXT stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.69, for a total transaction of $469,315.88. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 152,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,751,946.28. This trade represents a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 370,455 shares of company stock valued at $14,879,664. 8.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its holdings in AXT by 2,333,600.0% in the third quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 23,337 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 23,336 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AXT during the 3rd quarter valued at about $112,000. White Pine Capital LLC increased its position in shares of AXT by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 860,411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 23,467 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of AXT by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,952 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,540 shares during the period. Finally, Oasis Management Co Ltd. bought a new position in shares of AXT in the 4th quarter worth approximately $164,000. Institutional investors own 49.52% of the company’s stock.

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.