Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Rating Increased to Sell at StockNews.com

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com to a "sell" rating in a report released on Wednesday.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. B. Riley downgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Northland Securities restated an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price target (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

NASDAQ AAOI traded up $3.15 on Wednesday, reaching $33.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,498,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,032,352. Applied Optoelectronics has a twelve month low of $6.70 and a twelve month high of $44.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of -16.17 and a beta of 2.39. The firm's 50 day moving average is $34.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total value of $157,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 216,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,821,031.24. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total transaction of $290,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 157,813 shares in the company, valued at $4,576,577. This represents a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 100,769 shares of company stock valued at $3,432,417. Insiders own 5.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pingora Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter valued at $82,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 5,956 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at about $89,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth about $186,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter worth approximately $118,000. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company's stock.

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.

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