AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Given New $56.00 Price Target at B. Riley Financial

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at B. Riley Financial from $55.00 to $56.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. B. Riley Financial‘s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 8.02% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AXT from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. UBS Group set a $90.00 price objective on shares of AXT in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AXT from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded AXT from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.80.

AXT Stock Performance

Shares of AXTI stock opened at $60.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $66.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.91. AXT has a 52-week low of $6.83 and a 52-week high of $143.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 3,044.00 and a beta of 1.86.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $73.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.00 million. AXT had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 0.96%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AXT will post 0.80 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AXT news, Director Leonard Leblanc sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.07, for a total transaction of $384,280.00. Following the sale, the director owned 113,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,868,303.03. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 5.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in AXT during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $365,607,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in AXT by 112.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 776,300 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,234,000 after purchasing an additional 410,181 shares during the last quarter. Ariose Capital Management Ltd acquired a new stake in AXT during the 1st quarter worth about $39,061,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in AXT during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,911,000. Finally, Rokos Capital Management LLP purchased a new position in AXT during the first quarter valued at approximately $18,842,000. 49.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AXT News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AXT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter results substantially exceeded expectations. AXT reported adjusted EPS of $0.41, versus the $0.31 consensus estimate, while revenue reached approximately $73.4 million, above expectations of $66.0 million. EPS improved from a loss of $0.03 in the year-ago quarter. AXT Beats Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Growth and profitability accelerated. Revenue increased 54% sequentially and 162% year over year to a record $73.4 million, driven by demand for indium phosphide materials. GAAP gross margin expanded to 56.0% from 44.9% in the prior quarter, while GAAP net income rose to $25.7 million from $11.1 million. AXT Q3 Revenue Reaches Record $73.4 Million
• Positive Sentiment: Tongmei financing could support expansion. AXT announced agreements for up to RMB 3.67 billion, or approximately $545 million, in private-equity financing for its Tongmei subsidiary. The funds may strengthen the subsidiary’s capital base and support growth, although the eventual structure and dilution implications remain important for investors. AXT Announces Financing for Tongmei
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock’s technical and valuation profile remains volatile. AXTI recently moved above its 200-day moving average, but it trades well below its 50-day average and carries a very high reported P/E ratio. These factors can amplify reactions to earnings and profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking and risk reduction are weighing on sentiment. The stock had risen sharply in recent weeks, encouraging investors to lock in gains ahead of earnings. Export permits, China-related approvals and broader semiconductor volatility add further uncertainty. AXT Falls as Investors Take Profits
• Negative Sentiment: Reported insider activity is a cautionary signal. The supplied data shows 16 open-market insider sales and no purchases over the past six months, including significant sales by executives.

AXT Company Profile

AXT, Inc develops and manufactures compound semiconductor substrates used as the foundation for various high-performance electronic and optoelectronic devices. Its principal products include gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP), and germanium substrates, along with other specialty materials such as gallium antimonide and indium arsenide.

The company’s substrates are used in applications including wireless communications, fiber-optic and data-center networks, lasers, light-emitting diodes, solar cells, consumer electronics, and aerospace and defense systems.