Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the four ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $16.88.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. TheStreet raised Applied Optoelectronics from a “d” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, B. Riley reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 price target (down from $22.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, February 23rd.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Applied Optoelectronics stock opened at $13.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market cap of $532.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.79 and a beta of 2.06. Applied Optoelectronics has a fifty-two week low of $1.60 and a fifty-two week high of $24.75.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 13.83% and a negative net margin of 25.75%. The firm had revenue of $60.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.27) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics will post -0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, Director Che-Wei Lin acquired 31,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.70 per share, with a total value of $398,399.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 220,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,795,689.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Applied Optoelectronics news, Director Che-Wei Lin acquired 31,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.70 per share, with a total value of $398,399.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 220,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,795,689.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin acquired 11,780 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.66 per share, for a total transaction of $149,134.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,218,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,421,905.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 201.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 11,543 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 7,716 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 1st quarter worth $73,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.