Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Up 5.4% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Applied Optoelectronics' stock surged 5.4% to $27.23, with significant volume decline compared to its average trading sessions.
• Analyst ratings are mixed, with a "buy" rating from Northland Securities at a target price of $50.00 and a downgrade to "hold" by Wall Street Zen.
• The company reported a 145.5% year-over-year revenue increase despite a negative EPS of ($0.02) for the latest quarter.
• Insider selling activity has been noted, with CFO Stefan Murry selling shares valued at approximately $82,380 recently.

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) shot up 5.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $27.17 and last traded at $27.23. 512,083 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 4,267,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAOI. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial cut their target price 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. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Northland Securities increased their target price on Applied Optoelectronics to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $22.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.03. The firm has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of -7.03 and a beta of 2.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $99.86 million for 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 145.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.31) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin acquired 21,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was 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 directly owned 1,659,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,227,435.50. This trade represents a 1.29% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 11,426 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.10, for a total transaction of $218,236.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 153,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,939,490. This trade represents a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 40,263 shares of company stock valued at $787,050. Company insiders own 4.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 85.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,785 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 825 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 175.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 1,413 shares during the period. 61.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.