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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) to a sell rating in a research report released on Friday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. B. Riley lowered Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 6.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAOI opened at $37.90 on Friday. Applied Optoelectronics has a 12-month low of $6.70 and a 12-month high of $44.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of -18.40 and a beta of 2.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 9,790 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $391,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 165,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,602,160. This represents a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total transaction of $352,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 167,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,918,764.51. This represents a 5.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 86,769 shares of company stock worth $3,015,537 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 272.1% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,281 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 6,787 shares during the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth about $82,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 5,956 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter worth about $89,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

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.