Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Lifted to "Sell" at StockNews.com

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com to a "sell" rating in a report released on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on AAOI. B. Riley Financial reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $9.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $17.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $13.75.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Shares of AAOI stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.44. The stock had a trading volume of 1,658,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,446,384. Applied Optoelectronics has a 12 month low of $6.70 and a 12 month high of $24.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $678.56 million, a PE ratio of -9.58 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $13.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.34.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $0.01. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 34.84% and a negative return on equity of 19.82%. The business had revenue of $43.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.31) earnings per share. Applied Optoelectronics's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total value of $150,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 132,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,996,473.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 5.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAOI. Shellback Capital LP bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at $8,617,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 9,687.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 853,948 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $16,498,000 after buying an additional 845,223 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,954,498 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $27,089,000 after buying an additional 442,277 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 550.5% during the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 411,054 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,408,000 after buying an additional 347,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whale Rock Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 30.0% during the 1st quarter. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC now owns 1,333,957 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $18,489,000 after buying an additional 308,172 shares in the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.