Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on AAOI. B. Riley upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Northland Securities lifted their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

AAOI traded up $0.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $23.29. 5,178,380 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,554,463. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.03 and a beta of 2.64. Applied Optoelectronics has a 1 year low of $6.70 and a 1 year high of $44.50. The business's 50 day moving average price is $15.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.33.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.05, for a total transaction of $32,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 321,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,152,627.80. The trade was a 0.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 23,837 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.06, for a total value of $454,333.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 278,842 shares in the company, valued at $5,314,728.52. This trade represents a 7.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,263 shares of company stock valued at $726,570 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,779,563 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $42,666,000 after purchasing an additional 350,145 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 70,210 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 182.7% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 976,520 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $14,990,000 after buying an additional 631,128 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 876,543 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $13,455,000 after buying an additional 115,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,331,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.