Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Position Lessened by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its position in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 403,691 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 103,941 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.86% of Applied Optoelectronics worth $14,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAOI. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $89,548,000 after buying an additional 241,594 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 606,997 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $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 in the 4th quarter worth $7,965,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter worth $511,000. Finally, Polymer Capital Management HK LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,102,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. B. Riley raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAOI traded up $3.57 on Monday, hitting $18.24. The stock had a trading volume of 7,276,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,201,431. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a one year low of $6.70 and a one year high of $44.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.85 and a beta of 2.55. The company's 50-day moving average is $14.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.63.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $99.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $99.37 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 22.36% and a negative net margin of 38.61%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 145.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.31) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of the firm's 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.96% of the company's stock.

Applied Optoelectronics 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.