AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Trading Down 14.6% on Insider Selling

07 Jun 2026, 10:58 by Sarita Garza · The Markets Daily

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI – Get Free Report)’s share price traded down 14.6% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $91.03 and last traded at $90.5170. 4,754,377 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 10,294,738 shares. The stock had previously closed at $105.99.

Specifically, Director Jesse Chen sold 6,133 shares of AXT stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.28, for a total transaction of $664,081.24. Following the sale, the director directly owned 94,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,199,218.04. The trade was a 6.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jesse Chen sold 4,000 shares of AXT stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.36, for a total transaction of $445,440.00. Following the sale, the director owned 100,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,172,303.36. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In other news, CEO Morris S. Young sold 123,601 shares of AXT stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.33, for a total transaction of $14,007,701.33. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Northland Securities set a $125.00 target price on shares of AXT in a research report on Wednesday. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on shares of AXT to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on shares of AXT in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AXT from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.80.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AXT

Trending Headlines about AXT

Here are the key news stories impacting AXT this week:

Negative Sentiment: CEO Morris Young and Director Jesse Chen disclosed multiple stock sales over the past few days, including large transactions that trimmed their ownership stakes. Heavy insider selling can weigh on sentiment because it may signal that management views the shares as fully valued or prefers to reduce exposure at current levels. SEC filing for Jesse Chen sale
Negative Sentiment: Traders bought 42,750 put options, about 58% above normal daily volume, suggesting a notable increase in bearish bets or hedging activity on AXT shares.
Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted AXT’s order backlog topping $100 million and management’s plan to double capacity in 2026 and again in 2027, reflecting strong AI-related demand for indium phosphide substrates. Article: AXT’s Order Backlog Surge & Capacity Push Fuel Growth Expectations
Neutral Sentiment: The company’s latest earnings beat expectations modestly and Q2 guidance called for adjusted EPS of $0.06 to $0.08, but the business remains unprofitable on a net basis, which keeps the stock sensitive to execution and margin concerns.

AXT Trading Down 16.0%

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.12. The stock has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -287.22 and a beta of 1.80.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.03. AXT had a negative net margin of 14.69% and a negative return on equity of 5.71%. The firm had revenue of $26.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.22 million. AXT has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.060-0.080 EPS. On average, analysts predict that AXT Inc will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in AXT in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in AXT in the first quarter worth about $31,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in AXT in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in AXT in the third quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in AXT in the first quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors own 49.52% of the company’s stock.

About AXT

(Get Free Report)

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.