Weiss Ratings Reaffirms Sell (D-) Rating for Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a Sell (D-) rating for Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI), indicating concerns about the company's performance.
• Despite the negative rating from Weiss, several other analysts have issued conflicting ratings, with four rating it as a Buy and a consensus price target of $27.20.
• The company's recent earnings report showed lower-than-expected results, with an EPS of ($0.16), missing estimates and reflecting a continued financial struggle.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d-)" rating restated by Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Friday, July 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Up 2.8%

NASDAQ:AAOI traded up $0.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.22. 3,162,400 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,553,178. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $25.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.03. The company has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of -9.59 and a beta of 2.92. Applied Optoelectronics has a one year low of $9.71 and a one year high of $44.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $102.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $104.96 million. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative return on equity of 10.60% and a negative net margin of 42.29%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 137.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.28) EPS. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q3 2025 guidance at -0.100--0.030 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 15,784 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total value of $358,296.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 256,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,818,600.20. This represents a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Min-Chu (Mike) Chen bought 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.91 per share, with a total value of $171,825.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $515,475. The trade was a 50.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 44,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,000,878 and sold 30,784 shares valued at $709,117. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAOI. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,133,115 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 182.7% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 976,520 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $14,990,000 after buying an additional 631,128 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,455,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,779,563 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $42,666,000 after purchasing an additional 350,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,201,000. 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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