AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened
by Jessica Moore · The Cerbat GemAXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI – Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $122.77, but opened at $129.33. AXT shares last traded at $122.36, with a volume of 1,261,396 shares trading hands.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts have recently issued reports on AXTI shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on shares of AXT in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of AXT in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on shares of AXT to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Two equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.80.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on AXT
AXT Stock Performance
The firm has a market cap of $7.91 billion, a PE ratio of -387.26 and a beta of 1.75. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.67.
AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $26.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.22 million. AXT has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.060-0.080 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AXT Inc will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other AXT news, CEO Morris S. Young sold 159,536 shares of AXT stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.32, for a total transaction of $6,911,099.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,482,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,521,886.16. This trade represents a 6.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 20,000 shares of AXT stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.53, for a total transaction of $770,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 112,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,344,026.32. This trade represents a 15.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 502,278 shares of company stock valued at $21,196,754 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.97% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of AXT by 6.8% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,408 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of AXT during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of AXT during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in shares of AXT during the first quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, KBC Group NV purchased a new position in shares of AXT during the first quarter worth approximately $88,000. 49.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
AXT Company Profile
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.
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