Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Trading Down 8% - What's Next?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $27.05 and last traded at $26.89. 1,329,797 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 3,730,814 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Northland Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.80.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $21.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.51. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of -7.51 and a beta of 2.78.

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

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In related news, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin purchased 21,200 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.22 per share, for a total transaction of $386,264.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,659,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,227,435.50. This represents a 1.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 23,837 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.06, for a total transaction of $454,333.22. Following the transaction, the insider owned 278,842 shares in the company, valued at $5,314,728.52. This represents a 7.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,263 shares of company stock worth $704,670 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAOI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $42,666,000 after purchasing an additional 350,145 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 70,210 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $14,990,000 after purchasing an additional 631,128 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 15.2% during the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 876,543 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $13,455,000 after purchasing an additional 115,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,331,000. 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.