Emerald Advisers LLC Sells 10,621 Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Emerald Advisers LLC cut its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 596,376 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 10,621 shares during the quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC owned approximately 1.07% of Applied Optoelectronics worth $9,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,429,418 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $89,548,000 after buying an additional 241,594 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 979,769 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $36,123,000 after purchasing an additional 70,210 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 182.7% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 976,520 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $14,990,000 after purchasing an additional 631,128 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,331,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at about $23,354,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

AAOI traded down $0.01 during trading on Monday, reaching $28.39. 1,492,797 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,720,960. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.46. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.70 and a 12-month high of $44.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.88. The company has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.41 and a beta of 2.78.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 55.98% and a negative return on equity of 15.40%. The firm had revenue of $99.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.37 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.31) earnings per share. Applied Optoelectronics's revenue for the quarter was up 145.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAOI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Northland Securities increased their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective 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, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In related news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.05, for a total value of $32,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 321,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,152,627.80. This trade represents a 0.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 11,426 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction 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 $2,939,490. The trade was a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,263 shares of company stock valued at $726,570. 4.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.