Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 9,270,000 shares, a drop of 5.7% from the November 15th total of 9,830,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,470,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on AAOI shares. Northland Securities upped their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. B. Riley lowered shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $23.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.35, for a total value of $616,803.05. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 195,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,935,610.20. This represents a 9.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total transaction of $150,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 132,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,996,473.42. This represents a 7.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 86,769 shares of company stock worth $2,813,037 in the last quarter. 5.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 272.1% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,281 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 6,787 shares in the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth $82,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 5,956 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter valued at $89,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter valued at $109,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock traded down $1.34 during trading on Monday, hitting $35.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,254,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,736,396. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.90. Applied Optoelectronics has a 52 week low of $6.70 and a 52 week high of $44.50. The company has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a PE ratio of -17.68 and a beta of 2.37.

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.