Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Takes Position in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 345,392 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $12,731,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.74% of Applied Optoelectronics as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAOI. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 90.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 75,981 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 36,138 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at about $1,109,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at about $1,319,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth about $19,019,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth about $353,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In related news, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $290,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 157,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,576,577. This trade represents a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.72, for a total value of $126,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 212,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,728,731.88. The trade was a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 100,769 shares of company stock valued at $3,432,417 over the last 90 days. 5.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAOI. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. B. Riley cut Applied Optoelectronics from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James raised their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Northland Securities reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAOI traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $31.03. 2,358,389 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,605,127. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a one year low of $6.70 and a one year high of $44.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $34.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.20. The company has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.06 and a beta of 2.39.

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.