Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Trading Down 19.1% – Here’s Why

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s stock price fell 19.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $13.30 and last traded at $12.91. 4,089,600 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 37% from the average session volume of 2,986,628 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAOI has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. B. Riley raised Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Optoelectronics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.80.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 15.8 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $538.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.24 and a beta of 2.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.22.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $290,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 157,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,576,577. This represents a 5.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.72, for a total transaction of $126,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 212,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,728,731.88. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,298 shares of company stock worth $543,821 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,429,418 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $89,548,000 after acquiring an additional 241,594 shares during the period. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at approximately $16,145,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 979,769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $36,123,000 after purchasing an additional 70,210 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 27.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 887,259 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $12,697,000 after purchasing an additional 192,308 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at $31,331,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.