Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Takes Position in AXT, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXTI)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in AXT, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXTI) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 138,598 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned approximately 0.31% of AXT at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AXT by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,296,204 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $10,540,000 after buying an additional 20,747 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AXT by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 605,642 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,780,000 after purchasing an additional 50,975 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in AXT by 1,142.1% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 377,600 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 347,200 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in AXT by 833.3% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 272,416 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $919,000 after buying an additional 243,226 shares during the period. Finally, Keystone Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in AXT by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC now owns 202,223 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $684,000 after buying an additional 8,333 shares during the period. 49.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AXTI shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 price target on shares of AXT in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com cut AXT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of AXT in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.38.

AXT Stock Performance

AXTI opened at $2.58 on Monday. AXT, Inc. has a twelve month low of $1.89 and a twelve month high of $5.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $2.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.14. The firm has a market cap of $114.55 million, a P/E ratio of -6.45 and a beta of 2.23.

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

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.