Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 8,922 put options on the company. This is an increase of 70% compared to the average volume of 5,246 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AAOI. Raymond James raised their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $27.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, B. Riley decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.70.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 16.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAOI traded up $6.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $42.43. 2,199,335 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,644,490. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.87. 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 company has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.48 and a beta of 1.96. Applied Optoelectronics has a 52 week low of $6.70 and a 52 week high of $42.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total transaction of $157,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 216,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,821,031.24. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.35, for a total transaction of $616,803.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 195,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,935,610.20. The trade was a 9.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $1,687,174. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth about $19,019,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter valued at approximately $16,145,000. Shellback Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter valued at approximately $8,617,000. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,596,545 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,847,000 after purchasing an additional 515,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JAT Capital Mgmt LP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,470,000. 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.