Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Director Purchases $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 company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $22.86 per share, for a total transaction of $320,040.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 249,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,710,862.34. The trade was a 5.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Applied Optoelectronics stock traded down $2.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $21.01. 4,904,322 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,012,065. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.20 and a 52-week high of $44.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.11. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.25 and a beta of 2.72.

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 return on equity of 10.60% and a negative net margin of 42.29%. The firm had revenue of $102.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $104.96 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.28) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 137.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAOI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial set a $25.00 price objective on Applied Optoelectronics and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. B. Riley reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $15.00 price objective (up from $13.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, July 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 51.9% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 55,385 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,423,000 after purchasing an additional 18,914 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 47.0% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 135,291 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,476,000 after purchasing an additional 43,238 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 15.2% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,458 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 3,879 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 25.7% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 27,511 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 5,627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter worth about $4,283,000. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company's stock.

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.

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