Zacks Research Upgrades AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) to Strong-Buy

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on shares of AXT from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded AXT from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded AXT from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group set a $90.00 price objective on AXT in a report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.80.

AXT Price Performance

AXTI opened at $36.72 on Wednesday. AXT has a 12-month low of $7.81 and a 12-month high of $143.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 81.60 and a beta of 2.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $64.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.53.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $73.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.00 million. AXT had a net margin of 18.53% and a return on equity of 5.21%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AXT will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AXT

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

Institutional Trading of AXT

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of AXT by 65,461.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 26,880 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,081,000 after buying an additional 26,839 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System acquired a new position in shares of AXT in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,108,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC acquired a new position in shares of AXT in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,541,000. Ariose Capital Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of AXT during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,163,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd bought a new stake in shares of AXT during the 3rd quarter valued at about $825,000. 49.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AXT News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AXT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AXT’s Q3 revenue rose 162%, and the company reported a backlog exceeding $500 million, pointing to strong demand for indium phosphide (InP) products used in AI infrastructure. Article: Should You Buy, Sell or Hold AXTI Stock After Its Strong Q3 Results?
• Positive Sentiment: Northland Securities raised its earnings estimates across upcoming quarters, lifting its FY2026 EPS forecast to $1.15 from $0.81 and FY2027 to $2.29 from $2.03. These revisions signal greater analyst confidence in future growth. MarketBeat AXT coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks included AXTI among four Strong Buy AI-related stocks, citing demand for AI infrastructure and semiconductors as a potential growth driver. Article: 4 Strong Buy AI Stocks to Consider Amid the Tech Selloff
• Negative Sentiment: The stock’s roughly 191% rally has raised valuation concerns, increasing the risk of profit-taking—especially as technology shares face a broader selloff. This may help explain the recent pullback despite strong operating results. Article: Should You Buy, Sell or Hold AXTI Stock After Its Strong Q3 Results?

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.