AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $15.37, but opened at $14.24. AXT shares last traded at $15.7450, with a volume of 3,490,260 shares traded.

AXT News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AXT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company closed the underwritten offering and the underwriters fully exercised their option, increasing the deal to 8,163,265 shares at $12.25 and generating roughly $100 million in gross proceeds — provides substantial cash for expansion/operations and removes near-term financing uncertainty. AXT Announces Closing of Public Offering
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity and heavy call buying indicate short-term bullish positioning and speculative interest — may amplify intraday upside and liquidity. (2,968 calls traded, ~139% above average daily call volume)
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading surged (very high volume) and QuiverQuant data shows substantial retail/institutional attention and recent hedge fund position changes; high volume raises volatility and could drive overshoots in either direction. QuiverQuant AXTI data
• Negative Sentiment: Issuing new shares at $12.25 dilutes existing holders; initial pricing news earlier triggered a sell-off when the market absorbed the offering details — dilution risk remains a tangible negative for EPS/ownership. MarketWatch: AXT Shares Fall After Pricing
• Negative Sentiment: Material insider selling activity over the past six months (multiple exec sales reported) could be perceived negatively by investors concerned about insiders reducing exposure. QuiverQuant insider trading data

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on AXTI. Wall Street Zen upgraded AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Wedbush set a $7.00 target price on shares of AXT and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AXT in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. B. Riley lifted their price target on shares of AXT from $4.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on AXT from $5.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AXT presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.50.

AXT Trading Up 8.3%

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $11.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.89. The company has a market capitalization of $736.60 million, a P/E ratio of -30.38 and a beta of 1.97.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $27.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.85 million. AXT had a negative return on equity of 11.19% and a negative net margin of 25.22%. Sell-side analysts expect that AXT Inc will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXT

In other news, CEO Morris S. Young sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.05, for a total transaction of $421,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.84, for a total transaction of $371,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 132,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,969,920.96. This trade represents a 15.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 326,767 shares of company stock worth $3,329,808. 8.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXT

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AXTI. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in AXT by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 530,269 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 227,333 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its holdings in AXT by 100.0% in the second quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 39,150 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 19,575 shares during the period. White Pine Capital LLC grew its position in AXT by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 860,411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after buying an additional 23,467 shares in the last quarter. Destination Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of AXT in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $458,000. Finally, Penn Capital Management Company LLC bought a new position in shares of AXT in the third quarter valued at approximately $729,000. 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.