Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.80.

Several research firms have issued reports on AAOI. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Raymond James upped their target price on Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, B. Riley raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAOI. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 858.2% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth $82,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 5,956 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of AAOI opened at $15.35 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $765.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.45 and a beta of 2.36. Applied Optoelectronics has a 52-week low of $6.70 and a 52-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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.38.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $100.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.92 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 22.36% and a negative net margin of 38.61%. Research analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.