Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 633,600 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $23,354,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.35% of Applied Optoelectronics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 858.2% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter worth about $229,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 23,837 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.06, for a total transaction of $454,333.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total transaction of $46,120.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 196,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,533,157.86. The trade was a 1.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,263 shares of company stock valued at $740,590 over the last 90 days. 4.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ AAOI traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $18.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,047,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,245,862. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.70 and a 52-week high of $44.50. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $15.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.07 and a beta of 2.55.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 38.61% and a negative return on equity of 22.36%. The firm had revenue of $99.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.37 million. During the same quarter 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. Research analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAOI. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. B. Riley raised shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.00.

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.