Rosenblatt Securities Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by Rosenblatt Securities from $20.00 to $27.50 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the semiconductor company's stock. Rosenblatt Securities' price target would suggest a potential downside of 0.76% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $9.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Thursday, August 8th. B. Riley reduced their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Northland Securities boosted their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $18.70.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Applied Optoelectronics stock traded up $9.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.71. 19,400,414 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,555,807. Applied Optoelectronics has a 52 week low of $6.70 and a 52 week high of $27.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.45 and a beta of 1.96. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $15.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.67.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 132,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,996,473.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 5.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 245.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 49,661 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 35,295 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,123,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 29.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,954,498 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $27,089,000 after purchasing an additional 442,277 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the first quarter valued at approximately $161,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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