Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Trading 7.9% Higher – What’s Next?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s share price traded up 7.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $22.29 and last traded at $22.04. 1,042,911 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 4,114,351 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAOI has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, March 14th. B. Riley upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.80.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.88 and a beta of 2.36. 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 $24.97 and its 200 day moving average is $25.13.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.92 million. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total transaction of $46,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 196,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,533,157.86. This represents a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $290,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 157,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,576,577. This represents a 5.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,298 shares of company stock valued at $543,821 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 4.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at about $186,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 2.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,814 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,557,000 after buying an additional 3,081 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 4.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 345,612 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,946,000 after acquiring an additional 16,017 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth about $19,019,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 15,862 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 3,097 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.