AXT Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:AXTI)

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders bought 15,725 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 92% compared to the average volume of 8,190 call options.

Insider Transactions at AXT

In related news, Director Jesse Chen sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.13, for a total transaction of $706,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 123,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,825,833.56. This trade represents a 10.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Morris S. Young sold 159,536 shares of AXT stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.32, for a total value of $6,911,099.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,482,038 shares in the company, valued at $107,521,886.16. This trade represents a 6.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 502,278 shares of company stock worth $21,196,754 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AXT

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AXTI. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of AXT by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,952 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 2,540 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in AXT by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,967 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 3,467 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in AXT during the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in AXT during the 4th quarter valued at $98,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its position in shares of AXT by 31.9% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 28,800 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 6,970 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AXTI shares. Wall Street Zen raised AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on shares of AXT to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group set a $35.00 price objective on shares of AXT in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AXT presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.80.

AXT Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AXTI opened at $60.63 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of -126.31 and a beta of 1.75. AXT has a one year low of $1.13 and a one year high of $70.88. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $34.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.65.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.01). AXT had a negative return on equity of 9.50% and a negative net margin of 24.07%.The firm had revenue of $23.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.24 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that AXT will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.