Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $36.86, but opened at $35.97. Applied Optoelectronics shares last traded at $35.71, with a volume of 688,115 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAOI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. B. Riley downgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Rosenblatt Securities upped 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.82 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.

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, Director Elizabeth G. Loboa sold 13,494 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.54, for a total value of $493,070.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 124,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,230. The trade was a 9.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total transaction of $352,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 167,813 shares in the company, valued at $5,918,764.51. The trade was a 5.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 86,769 shares of company stock worth $3,015,537 in the last quarter. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AAOI. Pingora Partners LLC bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter valued at $82,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 5,956 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 272.1% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,281 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 6,787 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at $186,000. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

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.