Chung Wu Investment Group LLC Acquires New Shares in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 7,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAOI. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at approximately $19,019,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth $16,145,000. Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth $27,645,000. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 47.7% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,596,545 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,847,000 after purchasing an additional 515,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JAT Capital Mgmt LP acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth $6,470,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AAOI. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Raymond James upped their price target on Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. B. Riley lowered Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total value of $352,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 167,813 shares in the company, valued at $5,918,764.51. The trade was a 5.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.72, for a total transaction of $126,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 212,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,728,731.88. The trade was a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,298 shares of company stock worth $850,401 in the last quarter. 5.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of AAOI stock opened at $18.08 on Thursday. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $6.70 and a 1 year high of $44.50. The firm has a market cap of $847.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.78 and a beta of 2.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $29.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.09) earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $99.92 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 22.36% and a negative net margin of 38.61%. Analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

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.