Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $36.42, but opened at $37.64. Applied Optoelectronics shares last traded at $40.12, with a volume of 685,265 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAOI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. B. Riley reduced their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Northland Securities upped their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.70.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $21.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.01 and a beta of 1.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 5,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total value of $157,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 216,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,821,031.24. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard B. Black sold 8,162 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.18, for a total value of $303,463.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,979 shares of company stock valued at $1,990,637 in the last 90 days. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 29.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,954,498 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,089,000 after buying an additional 442,277 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 1st quarter worth $386,000. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the first quarter worth $511,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at about $956,000. Institutional investors 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.