JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Stock Holdings in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) by 1,288.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 293,906 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 272,741 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.63% of Applied Optoelectronics worth $10,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,429,418 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $89,548,000 after purchasing an additional 241,594 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $353,000. Emerald Advisers LLC increased its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 606,997 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $22,374,000 after buying an additional 80,539 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,965,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 887,259 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $12,697,000 after buying an additional 192,308 shares during the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total value of $46,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 196,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,533,157.86. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 6,298 shares of company stock valued at $148,841 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.96% of the company's stock.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of AAOI traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $10.66. The stock had a trading volume of 2,060,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,121,118. 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 firm has a market cap of $531.41 million, a P/E ratio of -5.17 and a beta of 2.57. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.70 and a 52 week high of $44.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.99.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $100.27 million during 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. B. Riley raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $31.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $23.60.

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.