Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Down 9.9% - What's Next?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) traded down 9.9% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $14.36 and last traded at $14.26. 942,632 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 3,731,749 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.82.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AAOI shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday. Raymond James upped their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Northland Securities reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, B. Riley upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.80.

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Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.63 and a beta of 2.36. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $26.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.50. 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 (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $100.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.92 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 22.36% and a negative net margin of 38.61%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,298 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.17, for a total transaction of $80,820.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 209,831 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,379,756.27. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 157,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,576,577. This represents a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,298 shares of company stock worth $850,401. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 858.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% during the 3rd 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. 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.