Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Down 4.4% After Insider Selling

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) fell 4.4% on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $30.97 and last traded at $31.08. 1,256,881 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 2,825,300 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.50.

Specifically, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.17, for a total value of $80,820.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 209,831 shares in the company, valued at $7,379,756.27. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AAOI shares. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James lifted 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, B. Riley lowered Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Optoelectronics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.02. 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 cap of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.90 and a beta of 2.39.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAOI. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 90.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 75,981 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 36,138 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth $1,109,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at $1,319,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at $19,019,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at about $353,000. 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.