Short Interest in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Declines By 11.9%

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,420,000 shares, a drop of 11.9% from the December 15th total of 9,560,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,670,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total value of $352,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 167,813 shares in the company, valued at $5,918,764.51. The trade was a 5.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total transaction of $157,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 216,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,821,031.24. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 86,769 shares of company stock worth $3,015,537 over the last quarter. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AAOI. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,667 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,557,000 after buying an additional 3,081 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 15,862 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 3,097 shares in the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth $82,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 5,956 shares during the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Northland Securities reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. 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. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Shares of AAOI traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $31.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,998,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,560,273. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.47 and a 200 day moving average of $19.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.05 and a beta of 2.39. Applied Optoelectronics has a 12 month low of $6.70 and a 12 month high of $44.50.

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.