B. Riley Downgrades Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) to Strong Sell

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) was downgraded by stock analysts at B. Riley from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Sunday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, July 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Northland Securities set a $30.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAOI opened at $25.42 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.24. Applied Optoelectronics has a fifty-two week low of $9.71 and a fifty-two week high of $44.50. The company has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.89 and a beta of 2.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.31.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $118.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.77 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 7.34% and a negative net margin of 36.97%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 82.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.21) EPS. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q4 2025 guidance at -0.130–0.040 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In related news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 15,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total transaction of $358,296.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 256,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,818,600.20. This represents a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William H. Yeh purchased 14,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.86 per share, for a total transaction of $320,040.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 249,819 shares in the company, valued at $5,710,862.34. The trade was a 5.94% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 37,600 shares of company stock valued at $850,468. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 497.5% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 962 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 243.9% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,297 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 85.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,785 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the period. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 175.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,413 shares during the last quarter. 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.