Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock Rating Lowered by B. Riley

B. Riley lowered shares of Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $14.00 target price on the semiconductor company's stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on AAOI. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $27.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Northland Securities boosted their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Optoelectronics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.70.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAOI traded down $3.07 on Tuesday, hitting $33.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,743,251 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,723,802. Applied Optoelectronics has a 12 month low of $6.70 and a 12 month high of $44.50. The stock's 50-day moving average is $24.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.29. 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 market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.15 and a beta of 2.36.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total transaction of $157,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 216,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,821,031.24. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 9,790 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $391,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 165,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,602,160. The trade was a 5.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 86,769 shares of company stock worth $2,813,037. Insiders own 5.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 272.1% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,281 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 6,787 shares in the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth $82,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 5,956 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter worth about $109,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.