Oberweis Asset Management Inc. Sells 370,100 Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Oberweis Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) by 42.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 495,815 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 370,100 shares during the period. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 1.06% of Applied Optoelectronics worth $18,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAOI. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 858.2% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at about $229,000. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. B. Riley upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total value of $46,120.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 196,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,533,157.86. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $13.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,001,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,148,710. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.61. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.70 and a 12-month high of $44.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $16.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.92. The company has a market cap of $723.33 million, a PE ratio of -6.34 and a beta of 2.57.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $100.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.92 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 22.36% and a negative net margin of 38.61%. Analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Optoelectronics 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.