Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $29.20.

AAOI has been the subject of several recent research reports. B. Riley lowered shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock opened at $37.82 on Friday. Applied Optoelectronics has a 52 week low of $6.70 and a 52 week high of $44.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.64. The stock has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of -18.36 and a beta of 2.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total value of $157,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 216,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,821,031.24. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total transaction of $150,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 132,921 shares in the company, valued at $1,996,473.42. The trade was a 7.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 96,769 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,737. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at about $19,019,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,145,000. Shellback Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $8,617,000. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 47.7% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,596,545 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,847,000 after buying an additional 515,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JAT Capital Mgmt LP bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter valued at approximately $6,470,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Applied Optoelectronics

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells fiber-optic networking products in the United States, Taiwan, and China. It offers optical modules, optical filters, lasers, laser components, subassemblies, transmitters and transceivers, turn-key equipment, headend, node, distribution equipment, and amplifiers.