Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock Price Up 12.6% on Analyst Upgrade

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) shares traded up 12.6% on Monday after Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on the stock to $30.00. Rosenblatt Securities currently has a buy rating on the stock. Applied Optoelectronics traded as high as $16.95 and last traded at $16.53. 1,319,424 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 3,963,368 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.67.

AAOI has been the topic of several other research reports. 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 report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin purchased 21,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired 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 directly owns 1,659,025 shares in the company, valued at $30,227,435.50. This trade represents a 1.29% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total transaction of $46,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 196,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,533,157.86. The trade was a 1.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 39,263 shares of company stock worth $740,590. 4.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,429,418 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $89,548,000 after acquiring an additional 241,594 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 606,997 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $22,374,000 after acquiring an additional 80,539 shares during the period. Affinity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth about $7,965,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $511,000. Finally, Polymer Capital Management HK LTD purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,102,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of -9.16 and a beta of 2.55. The business's 50 day moving average price is $14.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. The firm 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 firm's revenue was up 145.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.31) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

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.