Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by B. Riley

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) was downgraded by equities researchers at B. Riley from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $14.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock. B. Riley’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 61.28% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on AAOI. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Northland Securities raised their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $27.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Optoelectronics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.70.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock opened at $36.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of -17.55 and a beta of 2.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $24.45 and a 200 day moving average of $15.29. Applied Optoelectronics has a 52 week low of $6.70 and a 52 week high of $44.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total transaction of $150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 132,921 shares in the company, valued at $1,996,473.42. This trade represents a 7.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 195,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,935,610.20. The trade was a 9.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 86,769 shares of company stock valued at $2,813,037. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAOI. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the first quarter valued at $511,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $956,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $109,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 272.1% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,281 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 6,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter worth approximately $449,000. 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.