Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock Price Down 4.7% - Here's Why

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) shares fell 4.7% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $26.20 and last traded at $26.47. 2,822,616 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 22% from the average session volume of 3,606,583 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAOI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. B. Riley upgraded 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 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 raised their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Optoelectronics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.80.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $17.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.66 and a beta of 2.64.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $99.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.37 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 55.98% and a negative return on equity of 15.40%. Applied Optoelectronics'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 business earned ($0.31) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin acquired 21,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.22 per share, with a total value of $386,264.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,659,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,227,435.50. This trade represents a 1.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.05, for a total transaction of $32,100.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 321,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,152,627.80. This represents a 0.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,263 shares of company stock valued at $726,570 over the last 90 days. 4.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $42,666,000 after acquiring an additional 350,145 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $36,123,000 after purchasing an additional 70,210 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 182.7% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 976,520 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $14,990,000 after purchasing an additional 631,128 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 876,543 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $13,455,000 after purchasing an additional 115,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at $31,331,000. 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.