Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Raised to Sell at StockNews.com

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on AAOI. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James lifted their target price on 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 cut Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 6.5 %

Shares of AAOI stock opened at $37.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.79 and a 200-day moving average of $18.62. The firm has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of -18.40 and a beta of 2.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Applied Optoelectronics has a 12 month low of $6.70 and a 12 month high of $44.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.35, for a total transaction of $616,803.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 195,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,935,610.20. This trade represents a 9.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.93, for a total transaction of $269,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,181,025.46. The trade was a 7.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,769 shares of company stock valued at $3,015,537. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $956,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 272.1% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,281 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 6,787 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter worth $449,000. Acuitas Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 38.4% in the second quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 331,221 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,746,000 after buying an additional 91,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 4.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 616,701 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,113,000 after buying an additional 24,259 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.