Stefan J. Murry Sells 3,000 Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.46, for a total value of $82,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 318,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,733,268.56. This trade represents a 0.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of AAOI traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,933,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,746,396. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.70 and a 12-month high of $44.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of -7.42 and a beta of 2.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company's 50 day moving average is $21.30 and its 200 day moving average is $21.47.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 15.40% and a negative net margin of 55.98%. The business had revenue of $99.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.31) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 145.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAOI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Northland Securities boosted their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $24.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAOI. AlphaQuest LLC increased 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 85.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,785 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the period. 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 valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.72% 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.

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