Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockhol der Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Our common stock has been trading publicly on the NASDAQ Global Market (NASDAQ) under the symbol “AXTI” since May 20, 1998, the date we consummated our initial public offering, and beginning on January 3, 2011, our common stock began trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the same symbol. The following table sets forth the range of high and low sales prices of the common stock for the periods indicated, as reported by NASDAQ.
High
Low
2022
First Quarter
$
9.30
$
6.20
Second Quarter
$
7.10
$
4.97
Third Quarter
$
9.94
$
5.57
Fourth Quarter
$
7.12
$
4.17
2021
First Quarter
$
15.84
$
9.62
Second Quarter
$
12.56
$
8.45
Third Quarter
$
11.00
$
6.53
Fourth Quarter
$
9.60
$
7.03
As of March 6, 2023, there were 162 holders of record of our common stock. Because many shares of AXT’s common stock are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of stockholders, we are unable to estimate the total number of beneficial owners of our common stock.
We have never paid or declared any cash dividends on our common stock and do not anticipate paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Dividends accrue on our outstanding Series A preferred stock at the rate of $0.20 per annum per share of Series A preferred stock. The 883,000 shares of Series A preferred stock issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 are valued at $3,532,000 and are non-voting and non-convertible preferred stock with a 5.0% cumulative annual dividend rate payable when declared by our board of directors, and a $4.00 per share liquidation preference over common stock that must be paid before any distribution is made to the holders of our common stock. These shares of preferred stock were issued to shareholders of Lyte Optronics, Inc. in connection with the completion of our acquisition of Lyte Optronics, Inc. on May 28, 1999. By the terms of the Series A preferred stock, so long as any shares of Series A preferred stock are outstanding, neither the Company nor any subsidiary of the Company shall redeem, repurchase or otherwise acquire any shares of common stock, unless all accrued dividends on the Series A preferred stock have been paid. During 2013 and 2015, we repurchased shares of our outstanding common stock. As of December 31, 2015, the Series A preferred stock had cumulative dividends of $2.9 million and we include such cumulative dividends in “Accrued liabilities” in our consolidated balance sheets . No shares were repurchased during 2022, 2021 and 2020 under this program. If we are required to pay the cumulative dividends on the Series A preferred stock, our cash and cash equivalents would be reduced. We account for the cumulative year to date dividends on the Series A preferred stock when calculating our earnings per share.
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Comparison of Stockholder Return
Set forth below is a line graph comparing the annual percentage change in the cumulative total return to the stockholders of the Company on our common stock with the CRSP Total Return Index for the Nasdaq Stock Market (U.S. Companies) and the Nasdaq Electronic Components Index for the period commencing December 31, 2017 and ending December 31, 2022.
12/17
12/18
12/19
12/20
12/21
12/22
AXT, Inc.
100
50.00
50.00
110.00
101.26
50.34
NASDAQ Composite
100
97.16
132.81
192.47
235.15
158.65
NASDAQ Electronic Components
100
86.61
129.69
185.86
275.79
177.31
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
Not applicable.
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Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
On October 27, 2014, our Board of Directors approved a stock repurchase program pursuant to which we may repurchase up to $5.0 million of our outstanding common stock. These repurchases can be made from time to time in the open market and are funded from our existing cash balances and cash generated from operations. During 2015, we repurchased approximately 908,000 shares at an average price of $2.52 per share for a total purchase price of approximately $2.3 million under the stock repurchase program. No shares were repurchased during 2022 or 2021 under this program. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, approximately $2.7 million remained available for future repurchases under this program, respectively.
Item 6. Reserved