Citigroup Inc. Trims Stock Position in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. $AAOI

Citigroup Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) by 22.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,064,370 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 306,256 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 1.92% of Applied Optoelectronics worth $16,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $370,000. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 15.2% in the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 876,543 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $13,455,000 after acquiring an additional 115,853 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 31.1% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 40,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $614,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 1,058.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 339,550 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $12,516,000 after acquiring an additional 310,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 182.7% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 976,520 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $14,990,000 after acquiring an additional 631,128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin purchased 8,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.53 per share, for a total transaction of $199,390.50. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,652,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,223,277.45. This trade represents a 0.54% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.37, for a total value of $268,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 298,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,676,930.49. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 44,100 shares of company stock worth $1,000,878 and have sold 32,784 shares worth $741,217. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on AAOI shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. B. Riley reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $15.00 price target (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, August 8th. Northland Securities set a $30.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 17.5%

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock traded up $3.91 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $26.28. The company had a trading volume of 5,727,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,422,148. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.82 and a beta of 2.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.91 and a 200 day moving average of $20.20. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.22 and a 52-week high of $44.50.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $102.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $104.96 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 10.60% and a negative net margin of 42.29%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 137.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.28) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.