StockNews.com Lowers AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) to Sell

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on AXTI. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 price objective on shares of AXT in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of AXT in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.38.

AXT Trading Down 5.1 %

NASDAQ AXTI traded down $0.13 on Monday, hitting $2.42. 268,138 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,129,725. The company has a market cap of $107.45 million, a PE ratio of -6.05 and a beta of 2.23. AXT has a 12 month low of $1.89 and a 12 month high of $5.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2.62 and a 200-day moving average of $3.30.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The semiconductor company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.50 million. AXT had a negative net margin of 14.75% and a negative return on equity of 5.87%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.12) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that AXT will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXT

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AXT by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in AXT during the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its position in AXT by 125.0% during the second quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 13,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in AXT during the first quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System bought a new stake in AXT during the first quarter valued at approximately $93,000. 49.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.