AXT Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:AXTI)

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 27,622 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 24% compared to the average volume of 22,222 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling at AXT

In other AXT news, CEO Morris S. Young sold 159,536 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.32, for a total value 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 $107,521,886.16. This represents a 6.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.53, for a total transaction of $770,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 112,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,344,026.32. This represents a 15.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 502,278 shares of company stock valued at $21,196,754 in the last three months. 5.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AXT

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of AXT by 161.9% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,505,354 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $85,775,000 after acquiring an additional 930,526 shares in the last quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong bought a new position in AXT in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $22,738,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in AXT in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,187,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in AXT by 1,314.6% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 904,599 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $14,790,000 after purchasing an additional 840,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ariose Capital Management Ltd bought a new position in AXT in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,061,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.52% of the company’s stock.

AXT Stock Up 9.6%

Shares of AXTI traded up $11.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $126.02. 6,286,712 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,513,546. AXT has a 52 week low of $1.38 and a 52 week high of $134.00. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.38. The firm has a market cap of $8.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -407.92 and a beta of 1.75.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $26.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.22 million. AXT had a negative net margin of 14.69% and a negative return on equity of 6.11%. AXT has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.060-0.080 EPS. Analysts forecast that AXT will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on shares of AXT in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Needham & Company LLC cut shares of AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. B. Riley Financial raised their target price on shares of AXT to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of AXT in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, AXT presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.80.

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.