Brokerages Set Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Target Price at $25.80

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.80.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, March 14th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. B. Riley raised Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 15.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAOI opened at $10.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $538.39 million, a P/E ratio of -5.24 and a beta of 2.36. Applied Optoelectronics has a 1 year low of $6.70 and a 1 year high of $44.50.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 38.61% and a negative return on equity of 22.36%. The company had revenue of $100.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.92 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total transaction of $290,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 157,813 shares in the company, valued at $4,576,577. This trade represents a 5.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,298 shares of company stock valued at $543,821. 4.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAOI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,814 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,557,000 after acquiring an additional 3,081 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 345,612 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,946,000 after purchasing an additional 16,017 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 3,290.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 5,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 129.1% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 21,565 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 12,151 shares during the period. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.