Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Lowered to Sell Rating by B. Riley

B. Riley downgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $14.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on AAOI. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $27.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Northland Securities raised their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.70.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 8.5 %

AAOI stock opened at $33.09 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.06 and a beta of 2.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.61. The business’s 50-day moving average is $24.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.44. Applied Optoelectronics has a fifty-two week low of $6.70 and a fifty-two week high of $44.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 9,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $391,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 165,054 shares in the company, valued at $6,602,160. This trade represents a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director William H. Yeh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.08, for a total value of $430,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 223,538 shares in the company, valued at $9,630,017.04. This trade represents a 4.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 86,769 shares of company stock valued at $2,813,037. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter valued at approximately $82,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 5,956 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 272.1% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,281 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 6,787 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at $89,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth about $186,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.