Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $6.56 Million in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 177,859 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $6,556,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.38% of Applied Optoelectronics as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,667 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,246 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 2.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,081 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 15,862 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 3,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 60,348 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,224,000 after purchasing an additional 5,035 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company's stock.

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Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 8.8 %

NASDAQ:AAOI traded down $1.71 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $17.78. 3,098,991 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,932,139. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.70 and a fifty-two week high of $44.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $886.35 million, a P/E ratio of -8.63 and a beta of 2.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.23.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.72, for a total value of $126,880.00. Following 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 represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total transaction of $290,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 157,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,576,577. This represents a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,298 shares of company stock worth $543,821. Insiders own 4.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on AAOI shares. Raymond James upped their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. B. Riley raised shares of 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. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Northland Securities restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously 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 Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.