Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Down 4.4% – What’s Next?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s stock price was down 4.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $35.91 and last traded at $36.15. Approximately 1,270,735 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 2,755,815 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.51 and a beta of 2.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $27.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 195,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,935,610.20. This represents a 9.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total value of $150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 132,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,996,473.42. This trade represents a 7.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 96,769 shares of company stock worth $3,165,737. 5.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth about $353,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,920 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 15,507 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 909,559 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,018,000 after purchasing an additional 60,241 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth approximately $340,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,109,000. 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.