Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Trading Up 12.6% Following Analyst Upgrade

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) was up 12.6% on Monday after Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on the stock to $30.00. Rosenblatt Securities currently has a buy rating on the stock. Applied Optoelectronics traded as high as $16.95 and last traded at $16.53. 1,319,424 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 3,963,368 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.67.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on AAOI. B. Riley raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Optoelectronics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total transaction of $46,120.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 196,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,533,157.86. This trade represents a 1.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,779,563 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $42,666,000 after purchasing an additional 350,145 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 979,769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $36,123,000 after purchasing an additional 70,210 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 182.7% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 976,520 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $14,990,000 after purchasing an additional 631,128 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 15.2% during the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 876,543 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $13,455,000 after buying an additional 115,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,331,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 15.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $936.85 million, a P/E ratio of -8.25 and a beta of 2.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $14.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $99.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.37 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 22.36% and a negative net margin of 38.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 145.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.31) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.