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 Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was 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 owns 196,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,533,157.86. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ AAOI opened at $21.08 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of -10.23 and a beta of 2.36. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.70 and a 52 week high of $44.50.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 858.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% in 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 last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.