Shares of Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturer AIXTRON Experience Significant Downturn on Wednesday

On Wednesday, the shares of AIXTRON, a plant manufacturer for the semiconductor industry, experienced a significant downturn. Analysts from the French bank Exane BNP Paribas, led by Martin Jungfleisch, downgraded AIXTRON's securities from "Outperform" to "Underperform" and drastically reduced the target price from 21 euros. At the start of trading, the shares fell by 4.5 percent to a low since mid-2022, and finally closed at 21.91 euros, which represents a decline of 4.70 percent.

Jungfleisch Warns in His Study of an Impending Decline in the Business of Silicon Carbide (SiC) Manufacturing Equipment, an Area Where AIXTRON Has Been Strong. AIXTRON's Market Share Could Diminish as the Industry Shifts from Wafers with a Diameter of 150 Millimeters to Those with 200 Millimeters, Initially Preferring Single-Wafer Systems. This Could Lead to Unrealistically High Expectations for AIXTRON's Profit Development for the Years 2025 and 2026, Even Though Jungfleisch Expects Growth in the Business with Gallium Nitride (GaN) Semiconductors.

The discussion about potential market share losses, especially with key customers such as Wolfspeed and ON Semiconductor, already weighed on the stock at the end of March. AIXTRON itself, however, sees no market share losses with existing customers and even expects market share gains.

The recent concerns about declining demand and potential further export restrictions by Western countries on semiconductor technology to China have also contributed to the uncertainty. Despite recent share price losses of 43 percent since the start of the year, AIXTRON is still in a better position than at the end of 2019, when the shares were around 8.5 euros.