Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened 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 changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAOI. Wolfe Research began coverage on Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Raymond James Financial lowered 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. Finally, Northland Securities lifted their price target on Applied Optoelectronics to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $24.80.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 2.7%

The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.42 and a beta of 2.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.58 and a 200-day moving average of $21.41.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $99.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $99.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.31) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 145.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 23,837 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was 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 approximately $5,314,728.52. The trade was a 7.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin purchased 21,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.22 per share, for a total transaction of $386,264.00. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 40,263 shares of company stock worth $787,050. 4.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 85.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,785 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter worth about $321,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 1.1% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 61,017 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $937,000 after buying an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 10.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 25,579 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 2,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the first quarter worth about $7,455,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.