Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Trading 8.8% Higher

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s stock price traded up 8.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $13.20 and last traded at $13.04. 913,585 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 2,847,218 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. B. Riley reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price objective (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “d” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.88.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $15.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 25.75% and a negative return on equity of 13.83%. The business had revenue of $60.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.27) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin purchased 11,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $12.66 per share, for a total transaction of $149,134.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,218,160 shares in the company, valued at $15,421,905.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Che-Wei Lin bought 31,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.70 per share, for a total transaction of $398,399.00. Following the purchase, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin purchased 11,780 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.66 per share, with a total value of $149,134.80. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,218,160 shares of the company’s stock, 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at $191,000. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 201.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 11,543 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 7,716 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth about $139,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 12,604.0% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,704 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 12,604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $167,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by 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.