Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Trading Up 5.5% - Still a Buy?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 5.5% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $13.36 and last traded at $13.25. 235,109 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 3,139,423 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on AAOI shares. B. Riley upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.40.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $830.49 million, a PE ratio of -7.26 and a beta of 2.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.67.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $100.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $99.92 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 22.36% and a negative net margin of 38.61%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In related news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 196,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,533,157.86. This trade represents a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 4.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,429,418 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $89,548,000 after purchasing an additional 241,594 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $353,000. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 606,997 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $22,374,000 after buying an additional 80,539 shares in the last quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter worth $7,965,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the fourth quarter worth $511,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company's stock.

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.