Emerald Advisers LLC Boosts Stake in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Emerald Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 606,997 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 80,539 shares during the quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC owned about 1.30% of Applied Optoelectronics worth $22,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter valued at $1,109,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $19,019,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $353,000. Affinity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter worth about $7,965,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 27.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 887,259 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $12,697,000 after acquiring an additional 192,308 shares during the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 sale, the director now directly owns 157,813 shares in the company, valued at $4,576,577. The trade was a 5.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.72, for a total transaction of $126,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 212,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,728,731.88. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,298 shares of company stock valued at $543,821. Corporate insiders own 4.96% of the company's stock.

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Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 8.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAOI traded down $1.71 on Thursday, hitting $17.78. 3,098,992 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,938,365. The stock has a market capitalization of $886.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.63 and a beta of 2.36. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.70 and a 12 month high of $44.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $24.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.18.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. B. Riley upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.80.

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.