Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Hold" Rating

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on AAOI. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on Applied Optoelectronics to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Raymond James cut their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, B. Riley upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Optoelectronics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 7.6%

NASDAQ:AAOI traded down $1.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $15.65. The company had a trading volume of 5,023,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,296,732. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Applied Optoelectronics has a 1 year low of $6.70 and a 1 year high of $44.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $869.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.60 and a beta of 2.55.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 22.36% and a negative net margin of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $99.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.31) EPS. Applied Optoelectronics's quarterly revenue was up 145.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin bought 21,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.22 per share, with a total value of $386,264.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,659,025 shares in the company, valued at $30,227,435.50. This trade represents a 1.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 11,426 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.10, for a total transaction of $218,236.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 153,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,939,490. This trade represents a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,263 shares of company stock valued at $740,590. Corporate insiders own 4.96% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 61,017 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $937,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 25,579 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 2,415 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 1st quarter valued at $7,455,000. Twin Tree Management LP raised its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 15,573.4% during the 1st quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 10,031 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 9,967 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $77,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.