Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Down 19.1% - Here's What Happened

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 19.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $13.30 and last traded at $12.91. 4,089,600 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 37% from the average session volume of 2,986,628 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAOI. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, March 14th. B. Riley raised Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James upped their target price on Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Optoelectronics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Remove Ads

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $533.41 million, a PE ratio of -5.19 and a beta of 2.57. 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's 50 day moving average is $21.27 and its 200-day moving average is $25.24.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 22.36% and a negative net margin of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $100.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $99.92 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total transaction of $46,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 196,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,533,157.86. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $290,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 157,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,576,577. This represents a 5.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,298 shares of company stock worth $543,821 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.96% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 9,789.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,736 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,260,000 after purchasing an additional 14,587 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 36,471 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,344,000 after buying an additional 1,524 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth about $5,068,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 78,959 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,910,000 after buying an additional 11,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at about $13,035,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.72% of the company's stock.

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.