Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Trading Up 8.8%

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) shares rose 8.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $13.20 and last traded at $13.04. Approximately 913,585 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 2,847,218 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAOI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 price target (down from $22.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, TheStreet raised Applied Optoelectronics from a “d” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.88.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $447.72 million, a PE ratio of -6.55 and a beta of 2.04. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.79.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 13.83% and a negative net margin of 25.75%. The business had revenue of $60.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.27) EPS. Applied Optoelectronics’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, Director Che-Wei Lin purchased 31,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $12.70 per share, for a total transaction of $398,399.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 220,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,795,689.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Applied Optoelectronics news, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin purchased 11,780 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.66 per share, with a total value of $149,134.80. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,218,160 shares in the company, valued at $15,421,905.60. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Che-Wei Lin purchased 31,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.70 per share, with a total value of $398,399.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 220,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,795,689.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAOI. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,512,221 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,216,000 after acquiring an additional 200,163 shares during the period. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 90.4% during the 4th quarter. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. now owns 891,915 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $17,232,000 after buying an additional 423,500 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position 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. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong raised its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 380.6% in the 4th quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong now owns 637,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $12,311,000 after purchasing an additional 504,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter worth $9,716,000. Institutional investors 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.