Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Stock Price Up 4.8% – Still a Buy?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) shares rose 4.8% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $36.45 and last traded at $35.61. Approximately 861,789 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 2,739,287 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAOI. B. Riley downgraded shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Up 16.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.36 and a beta of 2.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $27.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.45.

Insider Transactions at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total value of $157,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 216,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,821,031.24. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard B. Black sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total value of $352,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 167,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,918,764.51. This trade represents a 5.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 96,769 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,737 in the last 90 days. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter worth about $956,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $109,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 272.1% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,281 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 6,787 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $449,000. Finally, Acuitas Investments LLC increased its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 38.4% during the 2nd quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 331,221 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,746,000 after buying an additional 91,885 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

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.