American Century Companies Inc. Has $3.72 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 100,852 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,884 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Applied Optoelectronics were worth $3,717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAOI. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% in 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 in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 3.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth about $229,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 129.1% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 21,565 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 12,151 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now directly owns 157,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,576,577. This represents a 5.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.72, for a total transaction of $126,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 212,129 shares in the company, valued at $6,728,731.88. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,298 shares of company stock valued at $543,821 over the last ninety days. 4.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Applied Optoelectronics stock opened at $10.80 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $538.39 million, a PE ratio of -5.24 and a beta of 2.57. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.70 and a twelve month 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $22.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.38.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $100.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.92 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 38.61% and a negative return on equity of 22.36%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAOI. B. Riley raised Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. 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 research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.