Rosenblatt Securities Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Rosenblatt Securities from $27.50 to $44.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Rosenblatt Securities’ target price indicates a potential upside of 20.78% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on AAOI. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Northland Securities lifted their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, B. Riley downgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAOI opened at $36.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.68 and a beta of 2.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.04 and a 200-day moving average of $15.87. Applied Optoelectronics has a fifty-two week low of $6.70 and a fifty-two week high of $44.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.35, for a total transaction of $616,803.05. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 195,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,935,610.20. The trade was a 9.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William H. Yeh sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $430,800.00. Following the sale, the director now 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. Insiders have sold a total of 86,769 shares of company stock valued at $2,813,037 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,814 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,557,000 after acquiring an additional 3,081 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 24.3% during the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 15,862 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 3,097 shares during the period. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth $82,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 5,956 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.