Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Upgraded to Neutral at B. Riley

B. Riley upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. B. Riley currently has $13.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on AAOI. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.40.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Shares of AAOI stock opened at $15.82 on Friday. Applied Optoelectronics has a 1-year low of $6.70 and a 1-year high of $44.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.13 and its 200 day moving average is $24.54. The company has a market cap of $785.48 million, a P/E ratio of -7.68 and a beta of 2.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.07). Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 38.61% and a negative return on equity of 22.36%. The company had revenue of $100.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.92 million. Research analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 209,831 shares in the company, valued at $7,379,756.27. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $290,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 157,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,576,577. The trade was a 5.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,298 shares of company stock valued at $850,401. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter worth about $5,068,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 78,959 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,910,000 after acquiring an additional 11,684 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,035,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 265.8% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 57,800 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,131,000 after acquiring an additional 42,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 588,469 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $21,691,000 after acquiring an additional 55,863 shares in the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.