Insider Selling: Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) CFO Sells 2,000 Shares of Stock

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.05, for a total transaction of $32,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Up 18.6%

Shares of AAOI traded up $3.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $23.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,912,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,058,400. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $6.70 and a 1-year high of $44.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.81.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $99.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.37 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 15.40% and a negative net margin of 55.98%. Applied Optoelectronics's revenue was up 145.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.31) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 243.9% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,297 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the first quarter valued at about $66,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAOI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target 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. Northland Securities raised their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $24.00.

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.