Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the five research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.70.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AAOI. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $9.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Northland Securities boosted their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. B. Riley cut their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 1.4 %

AAOI traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.51. 2,170,785 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,644,811. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $20.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.55. Applied Optoelectronics has a 1-year low of $6.70 and a 1-year high of $39.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.82 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total transaction of $157,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 216,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,821,031.24. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total value of $150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 132,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,996,473.42. The trade was a 7.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $1,687,174. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAOI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 29.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,954,498 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $27,089,000 after purchasing an additional 442,277 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 90.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 75,981 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $630,000 after acquiring an additional 36,138 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,319,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth $19,019,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at approximately $956,000. 61.72% of the stock is 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.