AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Rating Increased to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) to a sell rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $5.00 price objective on shares of AXT in a research note on Friday, February 21st. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 price target (up previously from $5.50) on shares of AXT in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $4.50 price objective (down previously from $5.50) on shares of AXT in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AXT has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.10.

AXT Stock Down 4.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ AXTI opened at $1.48 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.12. AXT has a 52-week low of $1.29 and a 52-week high of $4.99. The firm has a market cap of $67.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.29 and a beta of 2.17.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.08). AXT had a negative net margin of 11.70% and a negative return on equity of 5.27%. The firm had revenue of $25.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.94 million. Analysts anticipate that AXT will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of AXT by 65.4% during the 4th quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,937,424 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,204,000 after purchasing an additional 766,122 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in AXT in the fourth quarter valued at $628,000. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in AXT by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,477,169 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,575,000 after buying an additional 169,406 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AXT by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 915,460 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,987,000 after acquiring an additional 106,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AXT by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 606,365 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 96,195 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.52% of the company’s stock.

About AXT

AXT, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes compound and single element semiconductor substrates. The company offers indium phosphide for use in data center connectivity using light/lasers, high-speed data transfer in data centers, 5G communications, fiber optic lasers and detectors, consumer devices, passive optical networks, silicon photonics, photonic integrated circuits, thermo-photovoltaics, RF amplifier and switching, infrared light-emitting diode (LEDS) motion control, lidar for robotics and autonomous vehicles, and infrared thermal imaging.