Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $11.45, but opened at $10.82. Applied Optoelectronics shares last traded at $10.88, with a volume of 545,005 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAOI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. B. Riley upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $31.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities 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 MarketBeat.com, Applied Optoelectronics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.60.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 5.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $540.88 million, a PE ratio of -5.27 and a beta of 2.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $19.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.06.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last posted its 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 net margin of 38.61% and a negative return on equity of 22.36%. The company had revenue of $100.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.92 million. Analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In related news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.72, for a total transaction of $126,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 212,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,728,731.88. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,298 shares of company stock worth $253,821. Insiders own 4.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,429,418 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $89,548,000 after buying an additional 241,594 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at $353,000. Emerald Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 606,997 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,374,000 after purchasing an additional 80,539 shares in the last quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter worth $7,965,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 887,259 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $12,697,000 after purchasing an additional 192,308 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.