Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Purchased by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 118,249 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,435 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Optoelectronics were worth $4,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAOI. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at approximately $82,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% during 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. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 129.1% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 21,565 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 12,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth approximately $340,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total value of $46,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 196,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,533,157.86. This represents a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total transaction of $290,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 157,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,576,577. This trade represents a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,298 shares of company stock worth $543,821. 4.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

NASDAQ AAOI opened at $19.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $971.60 million, a PE ratio of -9.46 and a beta of 2.36. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.61. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.70 and a twelve month high of $44.50.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAOI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. B. Riley raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One 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 company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.80.

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.