Barclays PLC Raises Position in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) by 37.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,920 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,507 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.13% of Applied Optoelectronics worth $815,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth $19,019,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,145,000. Shellback Capital LP bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,617,000. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,596,545 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $22,847,000 after buying an additional 515,489 shares during the period. Finally, JAT Capital Mgmt LP bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth approximately $6,470,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AAOI shares. 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. Northland Securities restated an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price target (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. B. Riley downgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of AAOI stock traded up $0.62 on Wednesday, hitting $36.86. The stock had a trading volume of 2,301,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,747,659. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $31.02 and a 200 day moving average of $18.25. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.70 and a 12-month high of $44.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.89 and a beta of 2.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total value of $352,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 167,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,918,764.51. The trade was a 5.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total value of $157,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 216,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,821,031.24. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 86,769 shares of company stock valued at $3,015,537. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company's stock.

About Applied Optoelectronics

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.