Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Director Acquires $320,040.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Director William H. Yeh of Applied Optoelectronics purchased $320,040 worth of stock, acquiring 14,000 shares at an average cost of $22.86 per share.
• The company reported a loss of $0.16 earnings per share for the last quarter, which was below analysts' expectations of ($0.08), despite a year-over-year revenue increase of 137.9%.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $27.20 for Applied Optoelectronics, with ratings ranging from "buy" to "hold" among various firms.

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) Director William H. Yeh purchased 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $22.86 per share, with a total value of $320,040.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 249,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,710,862.34. This represents a 5.94% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAOI traded down $2.96 on Tuesday, hitting $23.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,596,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,426,108. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.02 and a beta of 2.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.11. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.43 and a 12 month high of $44.50. The stock's 50-day moving average is $24.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.19.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 42.29% and a negative return on equity of 10.60%. The firm had revenue of $102.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $104.96 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.28) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 137.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, July 25th. They issued 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 downgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.20.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAOI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 14.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,779,563 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $42,666,000 after buying an additional 350,145 shares during the period. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong increased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 410.7% in the second quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong now owns 1,408,983 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $36,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,115 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 18.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,285,693 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $33,034,000 after acquiring an additional 203,830 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 182.7% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 976,520 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $14,990,000 after acquiring an additional 631,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 15.2% in the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 876,543 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $13,455,000 after acquiring an additional 115,853 shares in the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.