18,953 Shares in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Acquired by Blueshift Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Blueshift Asset Management has made a new investment of approximately $291,000 in Applied Optoelectronics, acquiring 18,953 shares of the semiconductor company during the first quarter.
• Applied Optoelectronics reported earnings of ($0.02) EPS, exceeding estimates and achieving a 145.5% revenue increase compared to the previous year, with revenues of $99.86 million.
• Institutional investors hold 61.72% of Applied Optoelectronics' stock, which includes significant recent activity from other hedge funds, notably a 858.2% increase in holdings by Sterling Capital Management.

Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 18,953 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $291,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Corebridge Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 20,253 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $747,000 after buying an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 36,471 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,524 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 16,333 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,666 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.46, for a total value of $82,380.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 318,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,733,268.56. The trade was a 0.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin acquired 21,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.22 per share, for a total transaction of $386,264.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,659,025 shares in the company, valued at $30,227,435.50. This trade represents a 1.29% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,263 shares of company stock valued at $787,050 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AAOI. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Rosenblatt Securities boosted 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. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Northland Securities raised their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 2.2%

NASDAQ AAOI traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $22.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,445,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,307,059. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $23.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.68. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.04 and a twelve month high of $44.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.94 and a beta of 2.72.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 15.40% and a negative net margin of 55.98%. The business had revenue of $99.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $99.37 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.31) EPS. The business's revenue was up 145.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate 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.