AXT, Inc. AXTI stunned analysts with its impressive fourth-quarter sales figures revealed on a recent Thursday.
The reported revenue of $20.4 million soared past the estimated $17.6 million. For context, revenue stood at $17.4 million in the third quarter of 2023 and $26.8 million in the final quarter of 2022 according to Benzinga Pro data.
Adjusting operating expenses notably dropped to $7.5 million from the previous year’s $9.0 million. Despite this, the company noted an adjusted operating loss of $(2.7) million, a significant increase from $(0.3) in the same quarter of the prior year.
CEO Morris Young expressed optimism stating, “We believe that the trends that have driven our revenue and customer expansion remain very much intact, with new catalysts such as AI providing strong incremental opportunity. AI will drive up the need for massive data transfer requirements with increased bandwidth, low attenuation and low distortion. We believe this will result in increased demand for indium phosphide as the best platform for rapid data transfer.”
Following the impressive results, AXT shares surged by a remarkable 82.8%, reaching $4.17 on Friday.
An interesting development followed as analysts reacted by revising their price targets for AXT post the earnings report.
- Craig-Hallum increased the price target on AXT from $2.25 to $3.75 with analyst Richard Shannon upgrading the stock from Hold to Buy.
- Wedbush analyst Matt Bryson reiterated AXT with an Outperform rating and maintained a $6 price target.
- Needham analyst Charles Shi also reaffirmed AXT with a Buy rating and retained a $5 price target.
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