Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Down 2.7% – What’s Next?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) traded down 2.7% on Monday . The company traded as low as $36.40 and last traded at $36.89. 893,911 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 2,225,600 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAOI shares. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. B. Riley cut shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 1.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.71 and a beta of 2.39. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $32.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.02.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 9,790 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $391,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 165,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,602,160. This trade represents a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.93, for a total value of $269,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,181,025.46. The trade was a 7.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 86,769 shares of company stock valued at $3,015,537. 5.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAOI. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted 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 acquiring an additional 6,787 shares in the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth about $82,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 5,956 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at approximately $118,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.