Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Down 7.5% - Should You Sell?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 7.5% on Monday . The company traded as low as $25.73 and last traded at $26.52. 4,124,385 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 12% from the average session volume of 3,674,675 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AAOI. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Northland Securities raised their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.80.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of -6.85 and a beta of 2.78. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.79.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $99.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.37 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 15.40% and a negative net margin of 55.98%. Applied Optoelectronics's quarterly revenue was up 145.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.31) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, insider David C. Kuo sold 11,426 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.10, for a total value of $218,236.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 153,900 shares in the company, valued at $2,939,490. The trade was a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.05, for a total value of $32,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 321,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,152,627.80. The trade was a 0.62% 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 $726,570 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 858.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 243.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 17.6% during 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 in the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.