Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $17.30, but opened at $16.91. Applied Optoelectronics shares last traded at $15.90, with a volume of 573,587 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAOI shares. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday. B. Riley raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $26.47 and its 200 day moving average is $24.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of -10.73 and a beta of 2.36.

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

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total transaction of $352,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 167,813 shares in the company, valued at $5,918,764.51. The trade was a 5.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,298 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.17, for a total transaction of $80,820.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 209,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,379,756.27. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,298 shares of company stock worth $850,401 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAOI. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at approximately $19,019,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter valued at approximately $16,145,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,331,000. Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth $27,645,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth $23,354,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.