Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $36.86, but opened at $35.97. Applied Optoelectronics shares last traded at $35.71, with a volume of 688,115 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on AAOI shares. B. Riley lowered Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.82 and a beta of 2.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 5,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total value of $157,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 216,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,821,031.24. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William H. Yeh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.08, for a total value of $430,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 223,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,630,017.04. This represents a 4.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 86,769 shares of company stock worth $3,015,537. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAOI. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 90.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 75,981 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 36,138 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,109,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at about $1,319,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at approximately $19,019,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at approximately $353,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Optoelectronics

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.