Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Down 8.3% – Should You Sell?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s share price traded down 8.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $34.32 and last traded at $34.60. 570,469 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 2,743,015 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAOI. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James upped their target price 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. B. Riley lowered Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $29.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of -17.35 and a beta of 2.37.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 9,790 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $391,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 165,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,602,160. The trade was a 5.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 shares were sold at an average price of $43.08, for a total value of $430,800.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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 company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 47.7% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,596,545 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,847,000 after buying an additional 515,489 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $19,019,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at about $16,145,000. Shellback Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,617,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 909,559 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $13,018,000 after buying an additional 60,241 shares in the last quarter. 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.