Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock Price Up 4.8% - Time to Buy?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 4.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $36.45 and last traded at $35.61. Approximately 861,789 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 2,739,287 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAOI. Northland Securities reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday. B. Riley cut shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James raised their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 4.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.72 and a beta of 2.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $27.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 9,790 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $391,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 165,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,602,160. This trade represents a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.93, for a total value of $269,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 118,122 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,181,025.46. The trade was a 7.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 96,769 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,737. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pingora Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $82,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 5,956 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 272.1% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,281 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 6,787 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth $89,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at $186,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.