Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Trading 4.8% Higher – Here’s Why

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s share price shot up 4.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $36.45 and last traded at $35.61. 861,789 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 2,739,287 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AAOI. Raymond James upped their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. B. Riley cut shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $27.12 and its 200-day moving average is $16.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.53 and a beta of 2.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total value of $157,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 216,129 shares in the company, valued at $6,821,031.24. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.35, for a total value of $616,803.05. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 195,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,935,610.20. The trade was a 9.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 96,769 shares of company stock worth $3,165,737. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 90.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 75,981 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 36,138 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,109,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,319,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at approximately $19,019,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter worth approximately $353,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

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.