AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $48.83, but opened at $52.34. AXT shares last traded at $51.97, with a volume of 1,514,294 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AXTI shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded AXT from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Northland Securities set a $125.00 price target on AXT in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AXT presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.80.

AXT Stock Up 13.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -178.17 and a beta of 1.86. The company’s 50-day moving average is $88.31 and its 200-day moving average is $60.16.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $26.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.22 million. AXT has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.060-0.080 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AXT Inc will post 0.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jesse Chen sold 6,172 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.24, for a total value of $711,261.28. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,793,691. This represents a 10.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Morris S. Young sold 123,601 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.33, for a total value of $14,007,701.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,149,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $243,606,574.89. The trade was a 5.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 251,636 shares of company stock valued at $27,789,677. 5.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in AXT by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,408 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the period. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AXT in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in AXT during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in AXT during the first quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Tema ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AXT during the second quarter worth about $105,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.52% of the company’s stock.

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.