Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Trading Up 5.3% - Still a Buy?

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) traded up 5.3% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $16.42 and last traded at $16.35. 786,820 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 3,286,331 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 2.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $950.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.31 and a beta of 2.55. The business's fifty day moving average price is $14.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.22. 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 announced 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 net margin of 38.61% and a negative return on equity of 22.36%. The business had revenue of $99.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.31) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 145.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total value of $46,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 196,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,533,157.86. The trade was a 1.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 23,837 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 278,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,314,728.52. This trade represents a 7.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,263 shares of company stock worth $740,590 over the last 90 days. 4.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at $31,331,000. Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,645,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at about $23,354,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted 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 during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the first quarter worth about $7,455,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently 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.