Brokerages Set Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Target Price at $26.00

Key Points

• Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by seven brokerages, with an average one-year target price of $26.00.
• The company's stock recently opened at $21.53 and has experienced a significant increase in quarterly revenue, up 145.5% compared to the same quarter last year.
• Insider trading activity includes significant share sales by executives, with a total of 40,263 shares valued at $787,050 sold over the last quarter.

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $26.00.

AAOI has been the subject of several research reports. Northland Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, July 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised 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.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ AAOI traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $22.13. The stock had a trading volume of 4,238,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,324,831. Applied Optoelectronics has a 52 week low of $7.04 and a 52 week high of $44.50. The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.73 and a beta of 2.72. The business's 50 day moving average is $23.13 and its 200-day moving average is $20.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 15.40% and a negative net margin of 55.98%. The firm had revenue of $99.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $99.37 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.31) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 145.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, insider David C. Kuo sold 11,426 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.10, for a total value of $218,236.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 153,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,939,490. The trade was a 6.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin purchased 21,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.22 per share, for a total transaction of $386,264.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,659,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,227,435.50. The trade was a 1.29% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,263 shares of company stock valued at $787,050 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAOI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 14.4% during 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 raised its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 410.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,133,115 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $14,990,000 after purchasing an additional 631,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 876,543 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $13,455,000 after purchasing an additional 115,853 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company's stock.

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.