Two Sigma Investments LP Increases Stake in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 588,469 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 55,863 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned 1.26% of Applied Optoelectronics worth $21,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 858.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth about $229,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.72% of the company's stock.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAOI traded up $1.04 on Tuesday, hitting $18.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,054,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,263,175. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.70. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $6.70 and a 1 year high of $44.50. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of -9.18 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 22.36% and a negative net margin of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $99.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $99.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.31) EPS. The company's revenue was up 145.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AAOI shares. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Applied Optoelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. B. Riley raised Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.00.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In related news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 23,837 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.06, for a total transaction of $454,333.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 278,842 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,314,728.52. This trade represents a 7.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin acquired 21,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.22 per share, for a total transaction of $386,264.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,659,025 shares in the company, valued at $30,227,435.50. This represents a 1.29% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 39,263 shares of company stock valued at $740,590. Corporate insiders own 4.96% of the company's stock.

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.