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

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.20.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James raised their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Shares of AAOI stock opened at $37.82 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $27.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.64. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.36 and a beta of 2.37. Applied Optoelectronics has a 1-year low of $6.70 and a 1-year high of $44.50. 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 news, Director Elizabeth G. Loboa sold 13,494 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.54, for a total transaction of $493,070.76. Following the sale, the director now owns 124,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,230. The trade was a 9.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total value of $150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 132,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,996,473.42. This trade represents a 7.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 96,769 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,737. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAOI. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth about $19,019,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,145,000. Shellback Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at approximately $8,617,000. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 47.7% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,596,545 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $22,847,000 after acquiring an additional 515,489 shares during the period. Finally, JAT Capital Mgmt LP bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth approximately $6,470,000. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

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.