Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Free Report) had its price objective increased by Rosenblatt Securities from $30.00 to $34.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the semiconductor company's stock.
A number of other brokerages have also commented on AAOI. Northland Securities boosted their price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, B. Riley raised shares of 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.80.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Applied Optoelectronics
Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 5.6%
AAOI stock traded down $1.55 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $26.22. 8,121,893 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,619,833. The company has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.79 and a beta of 2.64. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $17.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.11. 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 has a 52 week low of $6.70 and a 52 week high of $44.50.
Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $99.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.37 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 55.98% and a negative return on equity of 15.40%. Applied Optoelectronics's quarterly revenue was up 145.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.31) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, 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 value of $32,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 321,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,152,627.80. The trade was a 0.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 23,837 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 278,842 shares in the company, valued at $5,314,728.52. This trade represents a 7.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,263 shares of company stock valued at $726,570 in the last three months. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAOI. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 243.9% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,297 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the first quarter valued at about $66,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Applied Optoelectronics Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
See Also

Before you consider Applied Optoelectronics, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Applied Optoelectronics wasn't on the list.
While Applied Optoelectronics currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Wondering what the next stocks will be that hit it big, with solid fundamentals? Enter your email address to see which stocks MarketBeat analysts could become the next blockbuster growth stocks.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.