Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Down 4.2% – Here’s Why

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)’s stock price fell 4.2% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $21.19 and last traded at $21.19. 4,342,390 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 4% from the average session volume of 4,180,287 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AAOI. B. Riley raised Applied Optoelectronics from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Applied Optoelectronics to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.80.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Down 3.7 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $25.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.81 and a beta of 2.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.07). Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 38.61% and a negative return on equity of 22.36%. The firm had revenue of $100.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.92 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. will post -1.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total transaction of $290,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 157,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,576,577. This trade represents a 5.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 2,298 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.17, for a total value of $80,820.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 209,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,379,756.27. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,298 shares of company stock valued at $497,701. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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 the stock. Corebridge Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 20,253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $747,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,262 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 25,529 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $941,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares during the period. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Applied Optoelectronics

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.