Barclays PLC Buys 15,507 Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,920 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,507 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Applied Optoelectronics were worth $815,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pingora Partners LLC bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth about $82,000. FMR LLC raised 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 in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter worth about $89,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth about $186,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter worth about $118,000. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAOI has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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 report on Tuesday, December 10th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Applied Optoelectronics stock opened at $31.18 on Thursday. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.70 and a 12 month high of $44.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $33.91 and its 200-day moving average is $19.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.14 and a beta of 2.39.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total transaction of $157,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 216,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,821,031.24. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William H. Yeh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 223,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,630,017.04. This represents a 4.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 86,769 shares of company stock valued at $3,015,537. 5.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.