Northland Securities Boosts Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Price Target to $50.00

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by stock analysts at Northland Securities to $50.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Stock Target Advisor reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the semiconductor company's stock. Northland Securities' price objective indicates a potential upside of 192.57% from the company's current price.

AAOI has been the topic of several other research reports. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. B. Riley raised Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Applied Optoelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 10.5%

AAOI traded up $1.62 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.09. 5,564,719 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,435,256. The company has a market cap of $949.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.30 and a beta of 2.64. Applied Optoelectronics has a one year low of $6.70 and a one year high of $44.50. The company's fifty day moving average price is $15.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 22.36% and a negative net margin of 38.61%. 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 company posted ($0.31) earnings per share. Applied Optoelectronics's revenue was up 145.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, insider David C. Kuo sold 11,426 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.10, for a total value of $218,236.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 153,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,939,490. This represents a 6.91% 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 acquired 21,200 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.22 per share, with a total value of $386,264.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 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 ninety days, insiders sold 37,263 shares of company stock valued at $694,470. Company insiders own 4.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAOI. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 858.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 243.9% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,297 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.