AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) Upgraded at StockNews.com

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on AXTI. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $5.00 price target on shares of AXT in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of AXT in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of AXT from $3.80 to $5.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Craig Hallum increased their target price on shares of AXT from $3.75 to $5.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.38.

AXT Price Performance

NASDAQ AXTI traded up $0.07 on Monday, hitting $3.45. The company had a trading volume of 191,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,555,856. The company has a market capitalization of $153.18 million, a PE ratio of -8.62 and a beta of 2.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $3.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.36. AXT has a 12-month low of $1.89 and a 12-month high of $5.64.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $22.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.00 million. AXT had a negative net margin of 21.01% and a negative return on equity of 7.40%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.08) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AXT will post -0.2 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXT

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AXTI. Barclays PLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXT in the third quarter valued at about $60,000. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXT in the third quarter valued at about $85,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AXT by 198.6% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 159,342 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 105,987 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AXT by 120.7% in the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 91,278 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 49,921 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of AXT by 127.3% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 377,321 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $906,000 after purchasing an additional 211,351 shares during the period. 49.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AXT Company Profile

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.