Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) CFO Stefan J. Murry Sells 2,000 Shares

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total transaction of $46,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 196,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,533,157.86. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Up 4.6 %

Applied Optoelectronics stock opened at $21.13 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of -10.26 and a beta of 2.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $25.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.92. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a one year low of $6.70 and a one year high of $44.50.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $100.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.92 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 38.61% and a negative return on equity of 22.36%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 858.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,262 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the period. Finally, Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth about $82,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AAOI. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. B. Riley upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.80.

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.