Whale Rock Capital Management LLC Makes New $16.15 Million Investment in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Whale Rock Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,128,238 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $16,145,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC owned 2.50% of Applied Optoelectronics at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth about $19,019,000. Shellback Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth about $8,617,000. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,596,545 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $22,847,000 after purchasing an additional 515,489 shares during the last quarter. JAT Capital Mgmt LP acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at about $6,470,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $27,089,000 after buying an additional 442,277 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $27.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. B. Riley Financial reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Northland Securities increased their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total transaction of $157,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 216,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,821,031.24. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen sold 9,790 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $391,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 165,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,602,160. The trade was a 5.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 86,769 shares of company stock valued at $2,813,037 over the last three months. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company's stock.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Up 12.7 %

AAOI traded up $4.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $38.87. 5,525,186 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,706,412. The company's fifty day moving average price is $23.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of -18.87 and a beta of 2.37. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.70 and a fifty-two week high of $44.50.

Applied Optoelectronics 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.