AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Trading Down 18.7% After Insider Selling

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI)’s share price was down 18.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $39.44 and last traded at $37.66. Approximately 3,327,761 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 7,849,945 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.32.

Specifically, Director Jesse Chen sold 11,007 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.49, for a total value of $445,673.43. Following the transaction, the director owned 187,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,572,075.39. This represents a 5.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jesse Chen sold 11,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.59, for a total value of $516,078.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 198,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,027,640.62. The trade was a 5.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AXTI shares. Needham & Company LLC cut AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on shares of AXT to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on shares of AXT in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.80.

Trending Headlines about AXT

Here are the key news stories impacting AXT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional investors added meaningful positions in Q4 2025 (e.g., Davidson Kempner, Hood River, Point72), which creates underlying demand and longer‑term support for the stock. Quiver Quantitative
• Positive Sentiment: Brainhole Technology disclosed a reinvestment that includes AXT shares, representing an external investor allocating proceeds into AXTI — a potential vote of confidence/near‑term buying interest. TipRanks
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest figures in feeds are inconsistent/zero (displaying 0/NaN), so there’s no clear short‑interest signal to explain price moves or a short‑squeeze narrative today.
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical momentum has been very strong over months (large YTD gains and recent highs), but some market commentary notes decelerating upside — a mixed technical picture for near‑term direction.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Morris S. Young sold 159,536 shares on Mar 2 (~$6.9M at the reported average), a sizeable insider disposition that likely weighed on sentiment; SEC filing: SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Director Jesse Chen executed two recent sales (11,320 shares on Mar 2 and 11,007 shares on Mar 3), reducing his holdings and contributing to intraday selling pressure; trade report: InsiderTrades
• Negative Sentiment: Aggregate insider activity shows heavy net selling (multiple insiders selling and few/no purchases reported over recent months), which is a negative governance/sentiment signal for traders and likely exacerbated short‑term outflows. Quiver Quantitative

AXT Trading Down 6.3%

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.01. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -81.52 and a beta of 1.75.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $24.24 million. AXT had a negative return on equity of 10.59% and a negative net margin of 24.07%. Analysts anticipate that AXT Inc will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong purchased a new position in shares of AXT during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,738,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in AXT in the fourth quarter worth $20,187,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Maytree Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in AXT during the 4th quarter valued at $11,156,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in AXT by 2,404.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 574,828 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,398,000 after purchasing an additional 551,876 shares in the last quarter. 49.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.