Insider Selling: Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Director Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total transaction of $352,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 167,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,918,764.51. This represents a 5.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock opened at $32.39 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.72 and a beta of 2.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a one year low of $6.70 and a one year high of $44.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James increased their price objective 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. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. B. Riley downgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 272.1% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,281 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 6,787 shares during the period. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter valued at about $82,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 5,956 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter worth about $89,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $109,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.