Brokerages Set AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) Price Target at $22.80

Shares of AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.80.

AXTI has been the topic of several research reports. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on AXT to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC lowered AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on AXT in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Craig Hallum reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $20.00 price target on AXT in a research report on Monday, December 22nd.

AXT Trading Up 22.2%

Shares of AXTI opened at $46.32 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $22.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.55. AXT has a 12-month low of $1.13 and a 12-month high of $47.03. The firm has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -96.50 and a beta of 1.74.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $23.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.24 million. AXT had a negative net margin of 24.07% and a negative return on equity of 10.59%. Equities research analysts forecast that AXT will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXT

In related news, Director David C. Chang sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.84, for a total value of $371,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 132,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,969,920.96. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Morris S. Young sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.05, for a total value of $421,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 8.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in AXT in the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in AXT in the fourth quarter valued at $98,000. Oasis Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in AXT in the fourth quarter valued at $164,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AXT by 1,071.5% in the fourth quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 11,012 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $180,000 after buying an additional 10,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AXT during the third quarter worth about $52,000. 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.