Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Price Target Raised to $50.00

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Northland Securities to $50.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Stock Target Advisor reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the semiconductor company's stock. Northland Securities' price objective would indicate a potential upside of 223.21% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. Raymond James lowered their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Applied Optoelectronics to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, B. Riley upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 8.6%

NASDAQ:AAOI traded down $1.45 on Friday, reaching $15.47. 4,960,123 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,417,728. The firm has a market capitalization of $859.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.51 and a beta of 2.64. The company's 50 day moving average is $14.92 and its 200-day moving average is $23.52. 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 has a 1-year low of $6.70 and a 1-year high of $44.50.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $99.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.37 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 38.61% and a negative return on equity of 22.36%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 145.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.31) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total transaction of $46,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 278,842 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,314,728.52. The trade was 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 valued at $740,590 in the last quarter. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAOI. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 1.1% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 61,017 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $937,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,415 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the first quarter worth $7,455,000. Twin Tree Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 15,573.4% during the first quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 10,031 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 9,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the first quarter valued at $77,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently 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.