Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang Sells 15,784 Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock

Key Points

• Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang, an insider at Applied Optoelectronics, sold 15,784 shares of the company's stock on August 13th for a total of $358,296.80, reducing his ownership by 5.80%.
• Applied Optoelectronics reported a quarterly loss of ($0.16) EPS, missing expectations, with revenue of $102.95 million—up 137.9% from the same quarter last year.
• The company's stock price fell 8.7% to $21.01, and it has been rated as a "Hold" with a consensus target price of $27.20.

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 15,784 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total transaction of $358,296.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 256,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,818,600.20. The trade was a 5.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 8.7%

NASDAQ AAOI traded down $2.01 on Thursday, hitting $21.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,904,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,012,065. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.20 and a 1-year high of $44.50. The company's 50-day moving average is $23.80 and its 200 day moving average is $20.33. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of -6.25 and a beta of 2.72.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong lifted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 410.7% during the 2nd quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong now owns 1,408,983 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $36,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,115 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,331,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at about $23,354,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $14,990,000 after purchasing an additional 631,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 1st quarter valued at about $7,455,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAOI has been the subject of several research reports. Northland Securities set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, B. Riley restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $15.00 price target (up from $13.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.20.

About Applied Optoelectronics

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.

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