Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Upgraded to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on AAOI. B. Riley downgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Raymond James increased their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of AAOI opened at $27.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.55 and a beta of 2.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Applied Optoelectronics has a 1-year low of $6.70 and a 1-year high of $44.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $34.31 and a 200 day moving average of $21.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.35, for a total transaction of $616,803.05. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 195,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,935,610.20. This represents a 9.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 103,067 shares of company stock valued at $3,513,238. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth $82,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 5,956 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter worth $118,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth about $186,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $194,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.