Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Upgraded to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) to a sell rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on AAOI. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. B. Riley cut shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Optoelectronics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAOI opened at $33.30 on Wednesday. Applied Optoelectronics has a 12 month low of $6.70 and a 12 month high of $44.50. The company has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.17 and a beta of 2.39. The business’s 50 day moving average is $34.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Insider Activity at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.72, for a total value of $126,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 212,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,728,731.88. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.35, for a total value of $616,803.05. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 195,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,935,610.20. This trade represents a 9.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 100,769 shares of company stock valued at $3,432,417 over the last quarter. 5.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 90.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 75,981 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $630,000 after buying an additional 36,138 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,109,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,319,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,019,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $353,000. 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.