Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $27.04, but opened at $27.82. Applied Optoelectronics shares last traded at $28.24, with a volume of 2,465,798 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAOI. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Monday. Raymond James upped their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. B. Riley downgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of -13.47 and a beta of 2.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, Director William H. Yeh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.08, for a total value of $430,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 223,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,630,017.04. This trade represents a 4.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard B. Black sold 8,162 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.18, for a total value of $303,463.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,250 shares of company stock worth $1,976,264 over the last 90 days. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAOI. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $19,019,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,145,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,331,000. Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,645,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at about $23,354,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Optoelectronics Company Profile

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.