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

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

Insider Activity

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 5,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 216,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,821,031.24. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William H. Yeh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.08, for a total value of $430,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 223,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,630,017.04. The trade was a 4.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 103,067 shares of company stock valued at $3,513,238. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,667 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $1,557,000 after acquiring an additional 3,081 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 24.3% in the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 15,862 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 3,097 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 60,348 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,224,000 after purchasing an additional 5,035 shares during the period. Finally, Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company's stock.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 7.5 %

AAOI stock traded down $2.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $25.83. 3,198,266 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,974,248. The stock's fifty day moving average is $34.31 and its 200-day moving average is $21.68. The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.54 and a beta of 2.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Applied Optoelectronics has a 52-week low of $6.70 and a 52-week high of $44.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AAOI shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James increased 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. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Northland Securities reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price target (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, B. Riley cut Applied Optoelectronics from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.20.

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.