Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 9,270,000 shares, a decline of 5.7% from the November 15th total of 9,830,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,470,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William H. Yeh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.08, for a total value of $430,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 223,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,630,017.04. This represents a 4.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth G. Loboa sold 13,494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.54, for a total value of $493,070.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 124,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,230. The trade was a 9.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 86,769 shares of company stock valued at $2,813,037. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $353,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 37.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,920 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $815,000 after buying an additional 15,507 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 7.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 909,559 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $13,018,000 after buying an additional 60,241 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter valued at approximately $340,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth approximately $1,109,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAOI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. B. Riley downgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Northland Securities increased their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Shares of AAOI opened at $36.43 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of -17.68 and a beta of 2.37. Applied Optoelectronics has a 1-year low of $6.70 and a 1-year high of $44.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.90.

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.