Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Given New $31.00 Price Target at Raymond James

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) had its price objective increased by Raymond James to $31.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Stock Target Advisor reports. They currently have a buy rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

AAOI has been the topic of several other reports. Northland Securities restated 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. B. Riley lowered shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.60.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 9.1 %

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock opened at $21.86 on Friday. Applied Optoelectronics has a 52-week low of $6.70 and a 52-week high of $44.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.02. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.61 and a beta of 2.36.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In related news, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total transaction of $352,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 167,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,918,764.51. This represents a 5.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,298 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 209,831 shares in the company, valued at $7,379,756.27. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,298 shares of company stock valued at $1,281,201 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAOI. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 858.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 5,956 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.