Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen Buys 7,500 Shares

Key Points

• Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen purchased 7,500 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock for $171,825, increasing his ownership by 50%.
• Applied Optoelectronics reported a quarterly loss of ($0.16) EPS, missing the consensus estimate, while revenue was $102.95 million, up 137.9% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in Applied Optoelectronics, with Nisa Investment Advisors growing its stake by 497.5% in the second quarter.

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen bought 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.91 per share, for a total transaction of $171,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $515,475. This represents a 50.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAOI traded up $3.76 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $26.13. 6,916,645 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,429,534. The company's 50 day moving average is $23.91 and its 200 day moving average is $20.20. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a one year low of $8.22 and a one year high of $44.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of -7.85 and a beta of 2.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $102.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $104.96 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 42.29% and a negative return on equity of 10.60%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 137.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.28) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AAOI. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 183.2% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 41,089 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,515,000 after acquiring an additional 26,579 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 979,769 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $36,123,000 after purchasing an additional 70,210 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3,718.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 20,964 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 20,415 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter worth about $6,556,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 858.2% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AAOI shares. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Northland Securities set a $30.00 price objective on Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, July 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.20.

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.