Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Trading 8.6% Higher – Should You Buy?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s share price shot up 8.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $16.89 and last traded at $16.36. 882,117 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 3,711,587 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAOI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Raymond James upped their target price on Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. 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 report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.40.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Up 21.0 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.26 and a 200-day moving average of $24.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $905.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.85 and a beta of 2.36.

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

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total transaction of $290,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 157,813 shares in the company, valued at $4,576,577. This trade represents a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,298 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.17, for a total transaction of $80,820.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 209,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,379,756.27. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,298 shares of company stock valued at $850,401. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,109,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter valued at about $19,019,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $353,000. Affinity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,965,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 887,259 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $12,697,000 after purchasing an additional 192,308 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.