Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $23.45, but opened at $22.41. Applied Optoelectronics shares last traded at $22.51, with a volume of 1,850,040 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Northland Securities upped their price target on Applied Optoelectronics to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. B. Riley raised Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.80.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $16.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.19 and a beta of 2.64. 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 released its 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 return on equity of 15.40% and a negative net margin of 55.98%. The firm had revenue of $99.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.31) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 145.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin bought 21,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.22 per share, with a total value of $386,264.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,659,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,227,435.50. The trade was a 1.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 11,426 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 153,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,939,490. The trade was a 6.91% 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 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 243.9% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,297 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 858.2% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the first quarter valued at $66,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.