Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Trading 9.2% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) shot up 9.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $26.37 and last traded at $26.79. 2,472,451 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 3,059,058 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AAOI. Raymond James increased their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. B. Riley cut shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Up 5.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.63 and a beta of 2.39. The business’s 50-day moving average is $34.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total transaction of $157,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 216,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,821,031.24. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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 approximately $3,181,025.46. The trade was a 7.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 103,067 shares of company stock valued at $3,513,238 over the last three months. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAOI. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 60,348 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,224,000 after buying an additional 5,035 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,124,000. Affinity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,965,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,731,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth approximately $353,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

Applied Optoelectronics Company Profile

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.