Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Earns “Buy” Rating from Rosenblatt Securities

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Rosenblatt Securities in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $36.00 price target on the semiconductor company’s stock. Rosenblatt Securities’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 126.84% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. B. Riley raised Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Optoelectronics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.80.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock opened at $15.87 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.56. Applied Optoelectronics has a twelve month low of $6.70 and a twelve month high of $44.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $787.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.70 and a beta of 2.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $100.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.92 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 22.36% and a negative net margin of 38.61%. Analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $290,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 157,813 shares in the company, valued at $4,576,577. This represents a 5.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.17, for a total value of $80,820.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 209,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,379,756.27. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,298 shares of company stock worth $850,401 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,068,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 78,959 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,910,000 after purchasing an additional 11,684 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth $13,035,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 265.8% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 57,800 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,131,000 after buying an additional 42,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 588,469 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $21,691,000 after buying an additional 55,863 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

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.