Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Receives $29.20 Average Target Price from Analysts

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.20.

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAOI. Northland Securities reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. B. Riley cut Applied Optoelectronics from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of AAOI stock traded up $2.01 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $27.04. 2,312,897 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,918,904. Applied Optoelectronics has a 12-month low of $6.70 and a 12-month high of $44.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.13 and a beta of 2.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,298 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.17, for a total transaction of $80,820.66. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.35, for a total value of $616,803.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 195,572 shares in the company, valued at $5,935,610.20. This represents a 9.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 93,067 shares of company stock worth $3,243,938 in the last three months. 5.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAOI. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. EAM Global Investors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,320,000. EAM Investors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,544,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $357,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 282.6% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 217,800 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $8,027,000 after purchasing an additional 160,880 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.72% of the company's stock.

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.