Swiss National Bank Grows Holdings in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 76,400 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 4,600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Applied Optoelectronics were worth $2,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 2.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,814 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,557,000 after acquiring an additional 3,081 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 345,612 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,946,000 after purchasing an additional 16,017 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 5,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 129.1% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 21,565 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 12,151 shares in the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on AAOI shares. B. Riley raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAOI opened at $19.49 on Thursday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $24.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.23. The company has a market cap of $971.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.46 and a beta of 2.36. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.70 and a 12 month high of $44.50.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last released its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,298 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,379,756.27. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, 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. Insiders sold 18,298 shares of company stock valued at $543,821 over the last quarter. 4.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.