Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $16.32, but opened at $17.65. Applied Optoelectronics shares last traded at $19.07, with a volume of 5,595,810 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAOI. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. B. Riley upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 7th. Northland Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 8.6%

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $15.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.19. The company has a market capitalization of $859.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.51 and a beta of 2.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $99.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $99.37 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 38.61% and a negative return on equity of 22.36%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 145.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.31) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, insider David C. Kuo sold 11,426 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 153,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,939,490. The trade was a 6.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin bought 21,200 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.22 per share, for a total transaction of $386,264.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 39,263 shares of company stock valued at $740,590. 4.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 61,017 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $937,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 25,579 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 2,415 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,455,000. Twin Tree Management LP grew its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 15,573.4% during the 1st quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 10,031 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 9,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $77,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by 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.