Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Up 5.3% – Here’s What Happened

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) rose 5.3% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $16.42 and last traded at $16.35. Approximately 786,820 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 3,286,331 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAOI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Applied Optoelectronics to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. B. Riley upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $14.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.32. The stock has a market cap of $943.69 million, a PE ratio of -8.25 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $99.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.37 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 22.36% and a negative net margin of 38.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 145.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.31) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total value of $46,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 196,581 shares in the company, valued at $4,533,157.86. This trade represents a 1.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 23,837 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.06, for a total transaction of $454,333.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 278,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,314,728.52. This trade represents a 7.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,263 shares of company stock worth $740,590 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 243.9% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,297 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 858.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the first quarter worth about $66,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.