Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $29.50, but opened at $31.24. Applied Optoelectronics shares last traded at $29.82, with a volume of 1,579,792 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.51 and a beta of 2.78. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $20.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 analyst estimates of $99.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.31) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 145.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 23,837 shares of Applied Optoelectronics 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 directly owned 278,842 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,314,728.52. The trade was a 7.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin acquired 21,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.22 per share, for a total transaction of $386,264.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,659,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,227,435.50. The trade was a 1.29% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,263 shares of company stock worth $704,670 over the last quarter. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 350,145 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 15.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter worth $31,331,000. Institutional investors 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.