AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Up 13.7% – Time to Buy?

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI)’s stock price shot up 13.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $75.10 and last traded at $74.19. 4,071,014 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 10,284,662 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on AXTI shares. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of AXT from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. B. Riley Financial decreased their price target on shares of AXT from $73.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings raised AXT from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Northland Securities set a $125.00 price objective on AXT in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, UBS Group set a $90.00 price objective on AXT in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AXT has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.00.

AXT Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4,312.50 and a beta of 1.90. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $71.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.33.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.12. AXT had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 1.55%. The company had revenue of $47.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.08 million. AXT has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.300-0.320 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AXT Inc will post 0.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AXT

In other AXT news, CEO Morris S. Young sold 123,601 shares of AXT stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.33, for a total value of $14,007,701.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,149,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,606,574.89. The trade was a 5.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 8,333 shares of AXT stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.17, for a total value of $926,379.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 65,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,244,393.05. The trade was a 11.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 251,636 shares of company stock valued at $27,789,677 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXTI. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of AXT during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in AXT in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in AXT during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in AXT during the 3rd quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in AXT in the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.